Module 1 S.W.O.T

Following the completion of my module i have reviewed my work and  formatted it as a s.w.o.t analysis to view my strengths, weaknesses and oppourtunities and the threat to my work.

strengths in my character design module were easily seen in my abilities and a draftsman in being able to create quick, detailed consistent drawings of the same character that i have designed. also to aid this is my creative imagination and being able to create unique characters that before Ive even drawn them i can vividly imagine what they will look like from all angles. this helps aid the design process by being able to have a solid image to work on and change and further evolve until they are just right.

not only does this vivid imagination help with the visual design of my character but also the personalities and dynamics of the character. characters are not only created from what they look like but also from how they act and ho they move. a character can sound intimidating but this can be greatly enhanced by how they hold themselves.i think that having strengths in character design field is important to the advancement in this module and fully understanding how you want a character to be.

one of my weaknesses to this module was defiantly my own stubbornness. as aforementioned i can vividly see how i want a character to be and imagine them before i create them on paper. however this also backfires slightly and creates stubbornness in change o my characters. when i have such a sturdy mental image of how i want my character to be it that becomes a problem when people recommend changes to him because im happy with him since hes how i envisioned them. however i have still taken on ideas from others and adapted them to my character, i think that this weakness has to be overcome for me to be successful in my character designs.

opportunities in this included progressing my skill in character design and also being able to use my skills to there strongest points as this is my specialty in illustration. threats include time management and closing off my designs to outside input.

Character sheets- Module 1 Evaluation

Character model sheets

To complete my character model sheets i first sketched them out in pencil. to keep the sense of traditional media i scanned them in and overlaid colors without first lining them to keep the sketchy style within the image. for the shading i multiplied colors like blue and green to compliment the blue fur of the lion. to reference the colors for future use i referenced the pantone colors on the model sheet.

During the course of this first module in my second year of animation I have revisited and learned new skills and techniques. The objective of this module was to create and develop a character with full background information and a developed personality to later use as a focus or asset in an animation.

 To help my character design and creation the second time around I researched into different contemporary animation characters and recent animation designs. Gaining ideas from new and old animation characters I used one of my container characters and redesigned him in a way that would fit the theme I was looking to achieve.
To better understand my character’s design I repeatedly drew him in different poses. To get my confidence with poses higher I compiled a collection of anatomy pages to better understand how he should move and look. This made me more affluent at drawing him exactly the same each time.

I was very happy with my final outcome. The model sheets were detailed and the turnaround was consistent throughout and didn’t show any inconsistencies with that character. I think the idea of keeping the line work sketchy and overlaying colour into the image worked very well and gave the character a more rough look. Also the colour reference worked well with the character. The dulled out colours gave a sense of his character with them, that there was sadness within his personality. I wanted to pick colours that portrayed his feelings in any future work I done. I think that my choices were very well suited him.

Artist Research Red Cardinal - Inspiration on Style and Techniques

Red Cardinal

Looking at the following work by artists made me think about how they achieve the effects and stylization's in their images. I found out about new programs due to these works because the artists declares the program they use. the artwork that follows is created by pixiv artist red cardinal. related to her account name she often creates artwork based around birds. what i enjoy most about her artwork is the high level of detail in such odd little pieces of artwork. this point mostly relates to the last image, although the bird has a certain cartoon edge to it the tooth brush looks so real and detailed that its very disorientating sometimes to look at. i also like the broad range of textures she uses on the feathers of the birds. in some we can see that she tried to make them look real and in others the focus of the medium at use is more prevailant. this can be seen in the second images where the feather texture is not the main focus but rather the effect of watercolor.

i find these visual to be very aesthetically pleasing even though i have no real care for the content of the image and find the colors and texture more important.

Photoshop

Weekly Reflection - Technology

Weekly Reflection - Technology

To aid the progress and progessioon of my current work and projects i have spent time looking up new digital painting programs that may help and assist me with my work.

Throughout my time as an illustrator I have used many programs and found I prefer some for lined drawings whereas others for digital painting. however i feel that my skills base is migrating towards the prominent use of the style of digital painting opposed to lined illustration. i feel that sometimes lines can ruin a beautiful sketch. im starting to use lines mostly for adobe illustrator based projects where the artwork is more pop and funky opposed to a highly skilled digital painting or piece of concept work.

Looking at new programs being released I found a program well suited for use with my new Cintiq. the reasons i am looking for a new program to use is the recent bug in adobe Photoshop and its interaction with the wacom cintiq. since the release of the product there has been a bug where the tablet randomly ignores pressure sensitivity and opacity in Photoshop. this is on great inconvenience when trying to digitally paint as suddenly a huge blotch of paint will appear out of no where. i feel that this is hindering my work and until a bug is fixed i will have to try and find a new program.

I hope to be able to use  the demo product and test it to see if it is suitable. I find the aesthetics of the programs layout to be very appealing. I will later document the uses and how I feel about the program.

Year Two

Year Two

Returning back to my animation course for my second year i had researched what i wanted to achieve this year.

Looking at animation studios, event and competitions i concluded that one of my main aims was to create more non-human creatures because most of my own illustration work is human based and i want to learn a wider variety of character designs.

Many of my inspirations come from other independent artists on the internet and those who compete in illustration competitions because i don't have the confidence to enter those so i hope that i can improve my own work to that level.

Over the summer i purchased a Cintiq that greatly improved my digital painting and illustrating skills and confidence. 

Cintiq 13HD Pen Display | Wacom

S.M.A.R.T Target - Character Design

S.M.A.R.T Target - Character Design

Targets during this week of my character design project are 

• to create a range of sketches based on my initial design of my character
• draw my character in different shapes and forms
• create a color scheme for my character
• start sketching out my final character sheets

 I will complete these tasks by following this time plan

• Monday : start drafting out different ideas and poses for my character
• Tuesday : im my own time based on different character shapes seen in character research i have looked out, start morphing my character into different shapes and sizes
• Wednesday : start coloring up some sketches of my character and settle on a color scheme. search online for swatch themes and various color schemes to apply to my character.
• Friday : begin composing and organizing the content and positioning of my character in my final character sheet and how this will work around text and color information.