chloe-gamesdesign-year2

[chloe-gamesdesign-year2]

Case Study

Task: I have been asked to write a 1,500 word case study for unit 12. In this task I will identify the role which I am going to be and what I want to do for my FEP, I will be taking my skillset into account and determining which skills line up with my chosen discipline. I will investigate what they do, how they work and how that part of the industry has changed. I will explain how this effects my work and how the change in technology helps or hinders me. I will research all aspects of my chosen discipline and come to a decision and create a plan and what exactly I am going to be doing for my FEP. I will then conclude by talking about what I discovered from my research, what I will need to do to achieve it and reflect on the plan and timeframe set.

Task 1 Discipline:

After looking at the animation skillset on creative skillset I feel like animation is an appropriate role for me to pursue. Some examples of the skills I have that match skills required of an animator are; I already have some knowledge of both 2D and 3D techniques, I am very creative and imaginative, I can work well as part of a team and also on my own initiative, and am able to communicate effectively with other teams and disciplines is essential, and I understand the timings and appearances of movement and facial expressions, and am able to show attitude, emotions and mood through a character’s movement and behaviour, and I am able to lip sync characters mouths with voices and sounds, I also have some knowledge of programming. Animators, are responsible for creating a character’s movements, expressions and behaviour. This is true in both 2D and 3D in both how a character moves around a level and how they behave during a cut scene.

In the past in traditional animations animators used still images or drawing and ran them one after each other in quick succession like a flipbook, in older games a similar technique was used for example in Pacman, Pacman only had a few different sprites for each direction, one with the mouth open and closed and the ghosts simply had different colours and eye placements. In current animation it works similarly to traditional animation in the sense that it is still running a series of images one after another in quick succession however every image is not hand drawn or photographed which makes the process a lot faster instead a base image is manipulated (whether that be a 3D model or a drawing) for each frame into the shape and place it needs to be in.

This progression in technology means that the whole animation process will be a lot more efficient, which allows me to complete my animation in a timelier manner. It will also give me more control over the finished product as individual frames can be altered after the whole animation is complete to make the animation flow better or to fix up any errors.

Task 2 Research:

For my project I need to understand the full process of creating animations in order to fully carry out my animation project, so to find out what I needed to do, I did some research and found an article on the 3D animation process that Pixar go through when they are creating 3D animations, and according to the article the process is in this order; story idea, text treatment, script, storyboard, voice talent, reels, colour scripts, models, sets, shots, animation, shade, lighting, rendering, and final touches and musical score. On this page I also found a Youtube video which was showing a scene taking from Cars 2 at different stages of its 3D animation creation. I did this so that I could find some professional examples of the process that is carried out to create 3D animations to give me a better understanding of this side of creating animation and whether it would be appropriate to do so for my FEP. I found this article to be useful and quite trustworthy as it was illustrated and cited a lot of its information using images and videos.

I next needed to look at 2D animation so this time I decided to get in touch with some animators and ask them about their process so that I could get some unique information from people who have experience this professionally in the role, I got a response from 2 of 3 animators. I contacted; Lemony Fresh, Pivots, and Smashtoons who are all animators on Youtube, unfortunately however I did not receive a response from Smashtoons. However both of the other two gave me detailed explanations which was very helpful. Pivots described his animation process as; storyboard/script, voice talent, animatic, clean up, final animation, and sound effects and music. While Lemony Fresh gave me a much longer explanation but this was more of an explanation of what 2D animation is like and how he animates within Adobe Flash Animate. Both of these responses, were very helpful and gave me a much clearer idea on the 2D animation process and gave me genuine responses from real life animators.

Task 3 Reflection:

For my FEP I want to create a 2D animation because my research suggested that it would be a much less time-consuming project, would give a lesser learning curve because I already have more prior knowledge in 2D than in 3D and it will shorten the required process in general because it’s shorter than 3D animation as 3D animation requires more steps which will take much longer and require tutorials as I am not fully confident with 3d animation just yet. For my FMP animation, I want to create a game cut scene so that I can introduce my character to the viewer in an interesting and engaging way. I will be using a character I had previously created who was a female rogue and will be redesigning her slightly to give her more depth and personality and make her more suitable to an animation, the cut scene will consist of her showing off her abilities such as throwing her daggers, hiding, and dashing, I will also show her killing enemies, moving around the map and if possible edit in some clips of her speaking if I am able to get someone to voice her, this is similar to the way that Rainbow Six Siege introduce their characters using their operator videos when you buy a new character or how Paladins introduce characters in their champion teaser trailers. The animation will be a few minutes long created using Adobe Animate, and following the process mentioned by Pivots. This means that I will need to first create my storyboard and script, find and record voice talent if able and necessary, create the animatic, clean up and create final animation, and create or find then implement, sound effects and music. I believe that by choosing to create a 2D animation I have set an achievable goal that is able to be completed in the time frame set. I will need to spend small amount of time getting used to animate as I haven’t used it in a while and need to get used to the software again as it has drastically changed since I last used it when it used to be flash and not animate.

Task 4 Conclusion:

In conclusion I have the skills I need to have create an animation however I may need to practice in animate for a while to get used to the software again. I have now learnt what the professional process of creating an animation is, what each step I need to take within the process is, and what I need to include within an animation.  Despite the fact that for this particular project I will be using the 2D animation process I now have the knowledge of what the process for a 3D animation is, and can apply it in the future, when I need it. I have received some great information and advice from profession animators which I can apply in the future in both this project and future projects. I will now need to apply this information and use this process to create my 2D animation, I believe that by choosing this type of animation and already having my main character created will save me time and allow me to do the whole of the project in the set time frame.

References

  Animator (Games) [Online]

Available at: http://creativeskillset.org/job_roles/325_animator_games

  Sunny Arora. 17th September. The Evolution of Animation: A brief journey through time. [Online] https://b2w.tv/blog/the-evolution-of-animation-a-brief-journey-through-time/

  Joshua Vardanega. Pixar Animation Process [Online]

Available at: http://pixar-animation.weebly.com/pixars-animation-process.html

  ThePivotsXXD. [Online]

Available at: https://www.youtube.com/user/ThePivotsXXD

  mmm… Lemony Fresh. [Online]

Available at: https://www.youtube.com/user/mmmLemonyFreshFilms

  GamesNewsOfficial.  August 1st 2016. RAINBOW SIX SIEGE - Operation Skull Rain Trailer [Online]

Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7wISaJZ4E8

  Paladins by Hi-Rez Studios. February 8th 2017. Paladins Champion Teaser – Maeve, of Blades [Online]

Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4f2L576O3_0

[chloe-gamesdesign-year2]

Evaluation

My original idea involved me creating a project alongside some of my older work showing my process of implementing an original character into a small game from the concept are through to the animation and implementation in a game.

I believe that despite not finishing my whole project I did complete the showreel and did show a variety of different aspects within games such as concept art, 3d models, working games, cover art, etc, even if I didn’t show them all using my character idea I showed them through older pieces of work I had done. I am happy with the quality of my work and I believe that I have improved on my weakness in 3D modelling whilst doing this project from simply creating my character model even if It isn’t finished.

During this project I spent a lot of time on both my strengths and weakness as I believe that both artistic ability and skills in 3D modelling are necessary to have experience in when creating 3D animations, however I am disappointed I did not have the time during the project to create the animation and implement it into my game however I will be working on this so that I may implement these when creating my final showreel.

In conclusion I am happy with the standard my showreel is at so far, and the skills that I have improved while creating my showreel, however I will be expanding upon it to show what I can really do and improve on my skills further. I believe I gave myself a lot to do and it was a change however I could have managed my time a little better to have gotten further along in the process.

[chloe-gamesdesign-year2]

My finished Showreel

[chloe-gamesdesign-year2]

Task 3 Part 2

Showreel Pitch Cue Cards

1)      What I’m making:

I will be making only one character. This character will be a rogue-like female wielding two throwing daggers/kunai.

I will show this character at different stages in the game creating process and will show these areas on my showreel; digital art, 3D modelling, animation, my ability to create a game and my coding abilities.

These images are of some of the things I have already created.

2)      What I already have:

For the rest of my time during the showreel I will show some older work which I believe shows my quality of work.

These examples will include: my 3D model of K9, my FMP comic cover “Clarke”, and my pool game.

I believe that the comic cover needs a little work to fully show off my abilities.

The K9 is a project that isn’t yet complete however when finished I believe will showcase my abilities well.

3)      Other info:

My showreel will be roughly 2 minutes long.

I will use music to make it easier for me to edit to and give the viewers some entertainment relevant and appropriate to my showreel.

4)      University courses and why:

These are my university course options in order of preference.

As you can see I have courses which are both science and art degrees, however all of the art based degrees are nearer to the top, this is because I wish to enrol on a games design course to further develop my skills in mainly animation and games art however I also want to improve my other games related skills such as coding and modelling.

Because of this I am interested in both Art and Science related degrees however I have a greater preference for the art degrees.

5)      The bigger picture - What pathway in industry do I want to take:

As afore mentioned I wish to specialise in and develop my skills in animation and game art/digital art.

I enjoy these two topics the most and I believe I am better suited to these roles than any other aspect of games design.

I however believe that by improving my skills in other aspects of games design it will allow me to develop and give me extra knowledge which could help me in this field.

[chloe-gamesdesign-year2]

Inspirations

To create my idea of having a character throwing daggers as an animation, I needed a reference so I chose Maeve from Paladins: Champions of the Realm as she has a lot of different animations for throwing and looking at her daggers so I had a few different poses to choose from.

https://steamuserimages-a.akamaihd.net/ugc/868482512618070455/943ECD0E8F1758CAB3F8156035C14FD2546728B5/

I also used a few human references for my concept to get a more believable and accurate pose.

https://scontent-lht6-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t34.0-12/22192999_803921719769616_1408752381_n.png?oh=fc3de362fca927e6fc65c7f5b5b885d1&oe=59D66A40

http://www.trueswords.com/images/jason-staham-throwing-knives.gif

https://cdn.instructables.com/FSZ/VUDI/FE6F2AP1/FSZVUDIFE6F2AP1.MEDIUM.jpg

I even took a picture of my own hand to get the right angle of the back of the hand.

I used this reference picture to create the right dagger for my character

http://allninjagear.com/content/images/thumbs/0001586_on-target-kunai-throwing-knife-set.jpeg

To create the clothing, I used a lot of different Asian influences for example;

Kendo clothing from japan however altered to become more modern and practical for throwing daggers.

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/a8/60/ef/a860ef468a69312d063992d140a07573.jpg

https://ae01.alicdn.com/kf/HTB1J0smMVXXXXXTaXXXq6xXFXXXf/Free-shipping-2017-Japanese-Traditional-Cosplay-Costume-Women-Half-Sleeve-Kimono-Yukata-maxi-Long-Pleated-Skirt.jpg_640x640.jpg

I looked through several different skirts from several different cultures and couldn’t find one practical enough for the pose I had given her. I knew I wanted some kind of split panel skirt and soon realised that a character called Ying in the same game afore mentioned had just the skirt I was looking for.

https://paladins.gamepedia.com/media/paladins.gamepedia.com/thumb/3/3b/Ying_Thumbnail.png/325px-Ying_Thumbnail.png?version=2e16fbb44ae1224cff7f59638f421e53

When it came to shoes however I didn’t think boots would fit with this kind of outfit, I wanted some small shoes that made the wearer look quite delicate and in keeping with the Asian style that I had made for my character. My character has quite small feet and although traditional Chinese shoes are tied with foot binding a painful process to keep feet looking small, I decided that this style would best suit my character as they made her look quite ballerina-esque and gave the impression that she was quick on her feet.

http://ladyviolette.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/CIMG9562-1001x1024.jpg

[chloe-gamesdesign-year2]

Showreel Task 2

For my showreel I want to showcase what I have learnt and what I am capable of, I hope to include most aspects involved within games design to show the diversity of my skills. My idea is to create a rogue character who wields throwing daggers and show this idea at every stage possible. I will create sketches of my character in my sketchbook, which I will then use to draw up the digital concept art, after which I will use to create the 3D model of my character and of her daggers, using these I will create an animation of the daggers being thrown and hopefully implement these into a small game of shooting targets with the daggers. Doing these things will show my art skills, my planning skills, my ability to use both modelling software and animation software, and my ability to code and create a working game.

During my showreel, I will include the aforementioned work as I believe that it will be quality work, showcasing skills at what I believe is a more developed stage than some of my previous work. That being said, I would like to include some older work that I believe also meets this standard. For example; a pool game which I created, where you play as the white ball with the aim of getting all the other balls into the pockets to earn points. I believe that the pool table is a well-created 3D model and the game itself also shows my abilities in coding. I would also like to showcase a 3D model of K9 but I believe this may need to have amendments made especially with the textures to really show my capabilities in games design.

The showreel should last around two minutes and I will edit it along to some music to allow the showreel to flow better and be more entertaining and eye-catching to the viewer. I will edit the showreel together using Adobe Premiere or the like.

After research on all of the universities I am interested in; Huddersfield, Sheffield Hallam, York St John’s, Staffordshire and Glasgow Caledonian University, I found that all of these universities were looking for the same skills in their potential students. From reading the course description and information given on their websites I was able to establish that these were the skills that every university was looking for; Creativity, ambition, planning skills, a general understanding of the different aspects of games design and the ability to work alongside other artists and programmers within a team.

I believe that I am a creative person and can create in many different ways; through concept art, idea generating, 3D modelling, animation, and character design. I show my ambition through my perseverance and determination to show people what I can do and to create things that I am proud of. I am able to plan well to meet deadlines and finish projects in a timely manner and have been working on improving this throughout my time at college. I understand what is expected of me and what to expect when on a games design course in terms of course content, timeframes I will be given, workload, etc. I am able to work well in a team I have shown this through careful planning and communication skills whilst working on group projects.

[chloe-gamesdesign-year2]

Showreel Task 1

What makes a good showreel?

After watching a few university showreels I found that the ones which were more engaging to me aimed to keep your attention by using visual effects, music and keeping them relatively short. For example, I looked at Huddersfield University, this showreel was well edited with interesting music and visual effects such as glitch like transitions between clips to keep the viewer watching. However, I believe that it was a little too fast as at times it was hard to see some clips especially with the glitch like transitions. The content itself was very high quality and even though the video is very short, I believe that it included a clip or picture of all the skills required of a general games design course. In contrast, Staffordshire University’s showreel was very long had no audio whatsoever and may be hard to watch all the way through for this reason. All of the showreels that I watched however had a good variety of high-quality clips and pictures showing off the student's skills well.

What media is used within a showreel?

The university showreels which I have watched show a variety of different clips and pictures of 3D models, animations, concept art, level designs, clips of working games, etc to show the skillset of their students, what they can do and how well they can do it. These clips and pictures are edited together along with music in most cases to try to create the best impression on a potential employer or university course leader.

How will you then apply this to yours?

I will apply this to my showreel by keeping my showreel short at about 2 minutes as 1 minute was too short for the Huddersfield showreel and 5 minutes was too long for both Staffordshire and Sheffield’s. I will also include a variety of different clips and pictures to show my skills in games design for example concept art, models, clips of a working game, a short clip of an animation, character profiles and pixel art. This variety should show that I can do all aspects of the work expected of me on a general games design university course.

Who is your audience?

My audience for my showreel will be games design university course leaders so that I can show my work, give a good impression, show the course leader that I can do the work expected of me and the quality of which my work is currently at.

What are they looking for?

A games design course leader is probably looking for someone who is competent in games design and can show that they can make pieces of work to fit every aspect of games design rather than just one. They are also looking to see my skillset and the quality of the work I am producing and whether it is at a high enough standard to match the university's expectations.

Strengths

I believe my strengths within games design are concept art, pixel art and character profiles and I believe that I can include these things easily and at high quality so I do that think these aspects of game design would be a problem while working on my showreel.

Weaknesses

I believe that my weaknesses within games design are animation and modelling because I don’t have enough practice in these areas. I also believe that my coding could use some more work, however, all of these issues could be fixed with a little more practice such as watching a few tutorials or simply using associated programs and applications more often.

Opportunities

I can use my strengths of concept art, pixel art and character profiles to easily create some pictures of high quality to had to the game which then allows me to focus on creating the more time-consuming things that I struggle with.

Threats

My weaknesses could be a problem as they could become quite time-consuming so this is something that I will have to be careful with and keep track of how much time I am spending on both practising and creating things like models and animations.

[chloe-gamesdesign-year2]

Showreel ideas

Concept Art

Existing Work Example: Original character digital art

Models

Example ideas: Character model, dagger model

Clip of working game

Existing Work Example: Pool game, Arcade maze game

Short clip of animation

Example Idea: Rogue character throwing dagger

Character Profiles

Pixel Art