This is a personal journal started from the 21st of November: 

Principles of Animation: Quadruped walk part 1

The class has been visited by different dog breeds. All of them have different builds and personalities which affect how they walk and the pace of their walking.

It was a struggle for me to draw the dogs at first because I have never really drawn them before.

I tried to break down their shapes as I learnt in life drawing which proved to become useful when I started sketching the second dog and I could see my drawings improved when I was drawing the third dog.

I didn’t start animating right away since I wasn’t too sure about how the legs work yet since the front legs and the back look different from each other. Hence, I spent the rest of the class researching how I’m going to animate the dog in the upcoming week.

Reflection from class:

The class was one of the best classes this term because we got to interact with our references and observe them closely. I really enjoyed seeing my drawings improve as time went by because it indicates that I’m starting to understand dog anatomy more.

I will be watching more dogs’ walk cycles and run cycles during the week for further research.

Stop motion TECHNICAL WORKSHOP (22nd Nov):

We were asked to make a puppet so I started off by drawing the plan sheets on how big I wanted to model to be.

My idea is to make a headless Yeti that is big and fluffy.

I used balsa wood as the main material and crafted and sandpaper it into shapes that I want. The making process was beyond the word fun although it was messy because all of the wood powder fell directly onto me.

Due to the limited time, I couldn’t make the fur suit for the model in time so I decided to put some cloth onto it and decorated it with red pins and my hairband.

The result came out looking like a ghost puppet but I wasn’t satisfied with the reThe result came out looking like a ghost puppet but I wasn’t satisfied with the result so I took the model home to continue making it a headless Yeti as I intended.

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Since the arms of the puppet were too weak, I changed the entire arms with stronger and thicker wires.

I used leftover cotton and stuffed the puppet for greater dimension and volume. After I’m satisfied with how the puppet looked, I then moved on to making the fur suit for which I ordered the fur fabric specifically for it.

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It took me a really long time to tailored the suit for the puppet because the suit It took me a really long time to tailor the suit for the puppet because the suit needs to be It took me a long time to tailor the suit for the puppet because the suit It took me a long time to tailor the suit for the puppet because the suit needs to be even bigger than the puppet itself. I was also unsure whether the fabric would become too flat in the area where I did not have the stuffed material.

After I finished putting on the suit for the puppet, I used leftover clay to decorate the missing neck part. However, since the clay doesn’t harden, the texture seen see, too off and unrelated to the overall puppet in my opinion.

The final look of the puppet looks better than I expected although the neck part is a little uneven. However, the puppet can stand pretty steadily and their arms and legs are strong enough to be bent back and forth which means I did my job well.

Reflection from class:

I have always been interested in making puppet, so the class was really useful for I have always been interested in making a puppet, so the class was really useful for me in learning about the materials and techniques for rigging or making the puppet jump.

The class made me realise that puppet-making might be a career path that I could explore in the future.

Acting for animation WORKSHOP (23rd Nov):

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We did another mood change walk exercise and walking with different energy levels. We were then asked to film ourselves to use as future reference.

Reflection from class:

The class is repetitive and we pretty much did the same thing from last week so I didn’t enjoy it as much since I believe I can do it anywhere. I don’t have a problem acting in front of others, so the class still hasn’t proven useful for me yet.

Life drawing (24th Nov): Gestures drawing

Reflection from class:

This week’s life drawing is the best life drawing class I have ever attended because I’m familiar with the round shape and am now more familiar with identifying the ‘bean’ in the model’s body.

I found it easier to draw this type of body because of the curves that help I found it easier to draw this type of body because of the curves that help create ‘soft’ images.

Overall reflection week 9:

Puppet making is the highlight of my week because I found myself enjoying seeing puppet making is the highlight of my week because I found myself enjoying seeing my character in real life rather than on screen like how it used to be.

It was rather a wonderful week where all the classes feel useful and helped me with my work. Although the acting class is more or less disappointing, I don’t regret showing up and look forward to learning more in the future.