Simon's Cat

I found a set of interesting videos of an animated cat online earlier. Since I am now working with silhouettes these videos are not quite so relevant as the outline of the cat is actually quite basic. None the less it is interesting to watch an animated cat in a very different style to the more famous cartoons like "The Aristocats" and "Top Cat".

Simon's Cat

Wednesday 28th April

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I spent some time modeling with plastecine to create a figure of the cat. I also continued looking at others who have worked with silhouettes and started looking at some of Lotte Reiniger's work on a DVD called "The Fairy Tale Films"

Thoughts

The plastecine cat has simply further confirmed my feelings that working with silhouettes is going to be the best way for me to animate this narrative. It is a very basic model which took me a long time to create and has no capabilities for moving. To create a model that moves I would need to make a wire frame and build the model up around that which from this short experiment with plastecine I do not have the skill to do.

Lotte Reiniger's work is incredibly complex. Although some of the animation is quite basic, the skill required to create it is immense and the end result is very enjoyable to watch. Her puppets are intricately detailed and carefully jointed to give them the right range of movement. I think that studying her method of creating puppets will be very useful in my own work for this project.

Future Plans

I need to make a silhouette puppet of the cat as well as design silhouettes for the rest of the characters. I will also need to choose how I want to animate the silhouettes for the project and create a new storyboard based on the final character designs.

Tuesday 27th April

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I spent some more time sketching ideas for the character of the cat. I had a look at other animations that involve cat characters so that I could identify the most important characteristics that differentiate between male and female. I also created a few silhouettes of cats so that I could focus on the outline rather than the inner details. This was prompted by some work by Kara Walker. I had a look at an article in Modern Painter (April 2010) called "The Eyes of the Storm".

Thoughts

I feel that although I have a better idea of how to make the facial features of a cat look feminine, I am concerned at the level of detail required. I am aware that my drawing is not yet strong enough to support an animation involving so much detail in such a short space of time. For this reason I found the silhouettes even more satisfying. Without any facial features, I still think that the shape of the cat looks feminine rather than masculine. These images combined with what I have seen of Kara Walker's work leaves me with a strong sense that this is likely to be the best path to follow.

Future Plans

I need to complete my character designs and choose my animation medium.

Monday 26th April

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I spent some time sketching out some ideas for the character of the cat. I focussed on the face and how to make the cat look as feminine as possible. I also updated this blog to get it caught up with my note diary.

Thoughts

I am finding that a lot of my sketches are looking quite masculine which is a serious problem for this character. A small nose seems to be essential with my style of drawing. However, as this is a relatively short project for animation I do not really have time for complicated characters that take a long time to draw.

I am still finding the blog very useful to re-evaluate my thoughts on work I have completed so far. It is a good way to remind myself of what I have achieved and what I need to focus on over the next few days and weeks.

Future Plans

I need to create some final character designs and alongside that choose the medium with which I will animate the story.

Friday 23rd April

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Today I completed sketching out a variety of ideas for my storyboard. Completing this allowed me to create a basic first draft of the actual storyboard.

Thoughts
Laying out ideas for the storyboard has helped me create a clearer image of how I want to portray the narrative for this animation. Tying it together in a single storyboard was very satisfying and provides a much clearer direction for the rest of the project. Although the sketches are very simple and basic, they still provide the most important information of how things happen and how the story progresses. A more detailed storyboard can be produced once I have created my characters.

Future Plans
The next step is to create the characters for the story. Now that I know what they will be doing during the animation, this should be much easier. I also need to choose a medium for the animation. This will likely coincide with designing the characters as they both affect each other.

Thursday 22nd April

Actions
I spent most of today getting my blog caught up with my note diary. This involved turning the short notes of what I had done each day into blog posts outlining my actions, my thoughts on what I had achieved and my plans for what needs to be done next.
During the digital class I also made a short time plan describing possible activities I can do during digital lessons.
Finally, during study skills I had a look at the criteria for the final major project and what is required to achieve a Pass/Merit/Distinction.

Thoughts
I am extremely pleased with the first stage of the blog. It is very helpful to go back through what I have done and evaluate it more carefully slightly after I did the work. Doing it while it is still fresh in my mind (ie within a few days) but it has been long enough that I am not biased by having just completed that step helps me to be more critical with what I have achieved so far.
The digital time plan should be extremely useful to prevent me wasting my time within the digital classes. It is very easy to arrive to a class without knowing what can be done within that environment. This leads to large amounts of wasted time while trying to find something productive to do. Hopefully the digital time plan should help to prevent this.
Reading through and discussing the criteria for the final major project was very useful as it has provided me with a much clearer idea of what areas I need to focus on to ensure I cover every area as thoroughly as possible.

Future Plans
I need to finish sketching out ideas for the storyboard and begin designing my characters. I also still need to choose a medium for the animation.

Wednesday 21st April

Actions

I spent some more time sketching out ideas for the storyboard. I also had an interview at Glamorgan for both Animation and Computer Animation.

Thoughts

Laying out ideas for each section of the storyboard allows me to investigate lots of possibilities without drawing infinite combinations of storyboards. This should speed up the final process and ensure that my final storyboard uses the strongest imagery.

Glamorgan is an impressive university with some excellent facilities available to students. The interview seemed to go well.

Future Plans

I still need to finish sketching ideas for the storyboard and start creating the final storyboard. I also need to begin designing characters and I need to choose a medium for the animation.

The Cat's True Nature

A cat fell in love with a handsome man, and begged Aphrodite to change her into a human being. The goddess felt sorry for the cat and agreed, provided the cat would give up her feline ways. Eagerly the cat promised she would, and so Aphrodite transformed her into an enchanting girl. The man was so struck by her beauty that he married her there and then.

As the newly wed couple sat together at their fireside, the goddess sent a mouse to run between the girl's feet. The excited girl pounced on the mouse - and then remembered her promise. But it was too late. Before she could apologise, Aphrodite had changed her back into a cat.

Moral

Changing your looks will not turn you into a different person

Tuesday 20th April

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I spent a bit of time evaluating the research completed over the holidays. This involved looking at what research I did, what research I had intended to do and what research I feel would be appropriate for the future.

Once this was complete I began sketching some ideas for possible ways each part of the story could occur so that I can start developing a storyboard.

Thoughts

I found the evaluation of research very useful to work out what I was doing well and what things I had forgotten to include. Planning in advance prevents me from drifting and spending time wondering where to go next and so laying out ideas for future research is a good way to prevent this from happening.

Although the sketches themselves are quite basic, I am really enjoying laying out possible ideas. For each stage of the story I have picked out which I feel are the strongest possibilities for the storyboard.

Future Plans

I need to continue laying out ideas for the storyboard so that I can move on and begin creating the actual storyboard. I also need to begin designing the characters and choose a medium to work in for the animation.

Monday 19th April

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I spent some time looking more carefully at some of Safaya's illustrations in my copy of Aesop's Fables. I also researched Paula Rego's Nursery Rhymes series of prints. Finally, I settled on The Cat's True Nature as the narrative for my animation.

Thoughts

Safaya Salter's illustrations are influenced by some Persian miniatures from her childhood. This shows in the beautiful detail of her work and the wonderful borders and patterns she uses within the images. The animals themselves are quite simple in shape but the variety of colours used and patterns created make a far more detailed final image. I find the line art very interesting as I feel it is a simple style that would look good in 2D animation.

Paula Rego's Nursery Rhymes are a very different illustration of children's narratives and as such are a very interesting counterpoint to the other work I have been looking at recently. The images are much darker and slightly creepy. The style is also very different due to the etching method with which she created the prints.

I feel that the Cat's True Nature is the most appropriate fable for this animation as it is an ideal length, contains only three characters (all of which are very different) and has a moral that is very easy to understand, especially when provided with the narrative.

Future Plans

Now that I have chosen a narrative, I need to start creating a storyboard. Alongside this I also need to begin designing the characters and finally, choose what type of animation I actually want to use.

Sunday 18th April

Actions

I spent some time researching Warner Brothers cartoons, specifically Looney Tunes. I watched a variety of episodes featuring various characters.

Thoughts

The Looney Tunes involves a large variety of anthropomorphic characters. As they are all different animals, they have very different body shapes and this provides an interesting variety of two-legged walk cycles. Unlike Disney's Mickey Mouse and Goofy, it is far more obvious what animal they are supposed to be. The animal features are far more distinctive, they are just placed on an upright figure that walks on two legs.

Future Plans

I still need to look at Safaya Salter's illustrations and choose a fable for the project.

Friday 16th April

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Today I spent some time watching parts of a variety of Disney animations and films. These included:

Steamboat Willie

The Lion King

Robin Hood

The Little Mermaid

Aladdin

Thoughts

Disney is one of the original sources of animation and as such there is a huge variety of work to explore. There is an enormous range of styles from the anthropomorphic Mickey Mouse to the far more realistic animals of the Lion King. Although the animation is far more complex than a short project like this would allow, the basic information for walk cycles remains the same. It is also interesting to watch videos aimed at a similar age range to my own project.

Future Plans

I need to continue my research into artists. I want to investigate Warner Brothers and look more closely at the illustrations by Safaya Salter. I also need to settle on which fable I wish to use.

Thursday 15th April

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I spent a bit of time reading through Aesop's Fables once more to try and find the best and most appropriate narrative for this project. Although I was unable to settle on a single favourite, I was able to narrow the choice down to a few that I felt were the most appropriate:

The Cat's True Nature

The Lion and the Elephant

The Foolish Crow

The Lioness and the Vixen

The Ant and the Dove

The Clever Dog

I also spent some time researching Quentin Blake.

Thoughts

Some of these fables are longer than others and part of my decision will need to be based on what is actually achievable within the time frame of this project. The number of characters and the complexity of their actions will also affect how long it will take to animate. It also needs to be a moral that is simple and easy to understand for younger children. Hopefully these criteria should make it easier to pick out one narrative above the others.

My research into Quentin Blake was enjoyable and reminded me how much I always enjoyed looking at his work when I was younger. He has such a distinctive, slightly childlike style that makes it thoroughly enchanting and very easy to look at.

Future Plans

I need to continue with my research into artists. Possible areas to investigate include Dr. Seuss (Theodor Seuss Geisel), Disney and Warner Brothers. Aesop's Fables illustrated by Safaya Salter contains some beautiful illustrations as well as the stories and so is an ideal version to use for the rest of this project. I also need to pick which fable I wish to use.

Tuesday 13th April

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I spent the day reading a large variety of children's books. These included:

Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Anderson's

Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm

Aesop's Fables

The Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

The Enormous Crocodile by Roald Dahl

They Can't Catch Brer Rabbit by Enid Blyton

The Ugly Duckling by Hans Christian Anderson

Thoughts

These books were an interesting read and show just how much variety there can be even within basic narratives aimed at young children. However, most of these are not very appropriate for my project as there is no clear moral within the story. The only exception to this is Aesop's Fables almost all of which have an obvious, defined moral. This makes them the ideal candidate to use for this project.

Future Plans

I need to re-read Aesop's fables and choose which one of the stories I want to use for this project. I also need to begin researching artists and relevant work.

Final Major Project

During this project I will be creating an animation, aimed at 5-8 year olds, of a narrative with a clear moral. This blog will be used to document my day to day progress throughout the project.