Ronnie Leah, BA (Hons) Computer Animation Arts, UCA Rochester.

Art Of Below is my Premise project "art of", showing the progression of my project through my artwork and influences. The document can be downloaded for closer inspection.  Final Reflection On Premise Project  I started the premise project with the knowledge that I wanted to create an animation which would push my skills. My goal was to produce a product which I was proud of to show off to possible employers. From previous projects I had been able to measure my skills, allowing me to identify my strengths and weaknesses. I wanted to take the opportunity the premise project allows to fully hone in on my weaker areas in order to give me the best possible outcome when it comes to the end of major. For this reason I decided to extend my project across all three units, premise, minor and major.  From my last project titled 'Collaborations', I managed to produce a final animation I was proud of. However I felt as though the animation wasn't as fluid as it could be. Th...

 After the presentation I went back and improved upon the weaker parts of my project.  Colour pallet Exploring M.A.S.H feature When presenting, Simon suggested that instead of having in-depth cyberpunk environment, I should instead investigate using the M.A.S.H tool in Maya. Instead of having an environment which is built up, Simon suggested that I make the Cyberpunk world more abstract, rather than a solid city. This way I can convey the message of technology infesting nature in a more symbolic way, allowing me to use the environment in a more visual way in the animation.  With M.A.S.H you are able to use soundwaves to build up the environment. This way the world is less structured and instead a product of sound. I can use cyberpunk type music in order to inspire the structure of my world. 

In order to show where I want to take my project going into Minor, I modelled my Samurai character's left gauntlet.  In order to make the hand and arm I referred back to the Jetpack Jones video tutorials. I then used the videos to help me lay out the Uv's for the arm  I then went into Photoshop and drew the texture for both sides of the arm.  I then rendered out the arm in order to see what it would look like. I would like to develop this idea further when it comes to the final version of the model for minor by adding texture which match the materials of the objects. For example the metal parts of the gauntlet would have a metallic finish. This will give the model more depth, making it look less flat. /

CV LinkedIn Profile link  Courts Design I found a job role as a junior animator/motion graphics artist at Courts Design. In order to write my cover letter I first needed a job to write the letter to. Its important to use job criteria to structure your cover letter. I could also use this opportunity to research a job advert.  Cover letter

In order to improve the fighting aspect of my animation, I will investigate TV shows which contain over-the-top action. This will help me in order to identify how to portray large amount of action and make it digestible for the audience so that they are able to still follow along with the events.  Fight scenes - Two established chracters who have their own motivations being there. This can be broken up into 2 parts, the technical aspect (the physical aspects of the fight) and the emotional narrative (the characters stake in the fight, what are they fighting for?).  Emotional narrative takes a fight which is technically accurate to another level as it conveys to the audience what victory of defeat means to both sides. This plays into the drive and motivations of both charcters to win, which in tern surpasses that persons ablilty to win on a technical level, making the emotion more memorable for the audience than the actual fight.  I have begun to explore this idea with the...

 Today I presented my premise unit to my tutor and fellow classmates in order to show the direction my project has taken. As this was the second presentation I continued where I left off last time, which was taking all of the research I had gathered and applying it to my own animation. This lead to the creation of the two characters. I was excited to present as I feel I have developed my project well in terms of what is required for the unit.  My tutor said that I was at a good place and that the idea for my project is strong, which I was very proud of. Below are the things suggested by my tutor which can help me improve upon my project for submission: Investigate the colour pallet -  at the moment the two worlds are very similar and my tutor suggested investigating the colours which distinguish the two worlds. For example traditional would be more pastel colours and the cyberpunk world would be purples and blues. This will he differentiate the two sides and make the anim...

 After modelling the entire scene I now had to animate the characters for the pre-viz. It was useful to use characters which were already rigged as it helped me to understand what my character needed to be able to do. I found that the premade rigs were very limiting, for example their limbs had very limited movement. I will be able to make the appropriate changes when it comes to making my own character.  I found when put into 3D my story was less engaging, however I feel this is down to the characters not looking stylize and their movement being sluggish. I purposefully made the characters move slower in the pre-viz so that it was easy to distinguish the characters movement. I can then use this block-out as a reference when creating the real animation.  When it comes to the final animation I also want it to be fast paced action, following the inspiration from the many things I research. This was hard to translate into the pre-viz as stated that the charcters were limited...

 Today I started modelling the scene for my previz. I started with each of my orthographs and modelled each object.  Once I had the initial objects in the scene I then referred to my concept art and began modelling the basic layout.  In order to create the rocks I used a plugin which randomly generates rock models. This made it quick to build up the environment for the pre-viz. When it comes to actually modelling the scene I want to have a more personal look and so will model the rocks myself, but as this is a pre-viz it does not matter as much. I also use the soft select and sculpt tools in order to make the mountain.  For the previz I used my concept art of the palace, however when it comes to the final scene I want to model the palace myself.  I then added basic colours in order to distinguish different parts of the environment. When it comes to the final models this will all be textured.  The last thing to do was the characters. As it would take a long ...

 Now that I have completed the final storyboard I now want to move on to making the animatic. I started by drawing some additional frames for my storyboard.  I then put all of the frames into premiere pro in order to see if the animatic told the story correctly. Animatic With transitions  I then added transitions in order to tell the story in a way which was easier to follow along with.  Final animatic with audio I then took the video into audition and added the appropriate sounds which depicted what was going on. 

 Below I have completed the final storyboard for my animation

 Before beginning my final storyboard I drew some additional poses for my characters. I read through the refined version of the story and drew poses which would be used. 

 In order to finalise the events which will take place with the animation, I will split my storyboards up into 3 acts:  Act 1: The introduction to the world - this act will showcase the city being built Act 2: The chase scene - This act will introduce both characters, the prop and will include the chase before the fight Act 3: The final fight between both characters By breaking up the story into acts it will allow me to focus on a particular subject for that act. I will then be able to mix and match the best versions of each.  Act1 I know that in order to introduce the world I want want to do a time-lapse of the city being built around the mountain. The once countryside will be consumed with technology leaving only the mountain left.  Act 2 Below is the initial version of my storyboard which I constructed with a while ago before changing the look of the characters. It details the  This was my initial chase scene idea. I really like how the robot character is int...

 Before coming up with the choreography for my fight scene, I want to firstly have a perfect understanding of who my two characters are in order to solidify their motivations in the narrative. Things to identify Traditional side - Manages to steal the technology which can grant the people of the cyberpunk world eternal life. Is alone on the mountainside as he makes his way back to the palace in order to regroup with his people.  Technology side - Appears to be more machine than man, has been sent out on a mission to retrieve the stolen technology.  What is the basic outcome of the fight? - I want technology yo win over man but do it in a way which is dishonest. For example win by a sword to the back while the traditional man is showing mercy.  I also need to identify what the object they are fighting over looks like as well as the weapons each side will be using.  Firstly I want to reasearch the different fighting styles found in Japan in order to see what optio...

 Today I decided to return to the city concept art. I decided to draw more basic buildings which could be duplicated across the scene. I liked the pattern of the bottom right drawing I drew and so decided to refer back to my previous drawing to see what it would look like on a cityscape. I tried a different arrangement in order to do a perspective which the building might look like if view from the mountain. However I did not like how this looked and felt like it was missing the charm of the cities which inspired my project in the first place.  I decided to look at additional refrennces, particularly from Akira, in order to see how the city is presented. I really like the overwhelming look of Akira's world, one which displays the full personality of the world form a single glance. It also solidifies the overpopulation crisis by not leaving any breathing room for the buildings.  With this in mind I decided to draw a much more extreme version of my city which was a combinat...