Category: Uncategorised

In February I took part in Digital Shift, the UAL initiative to give back to the local community by funding students to work for local businesses for free. My placement was at the coffee shop ‘Black cowboy coffee’ where I helped mostly with their website and product photography. I had to apply to be a part of this opportunity and be chosen out of multiple applicants.I made sure to tailor my application towards the Black Cowboy Coffee placement as it was the opportunity I was most interested in, being a fan of the company’s branding and style. Black cowboy coffee was also the only placement which claimed to have potential illustrating or animating opportunities. 

Having followed this company since frequenting elephant and castle because of how much I loved the style, I was very familiar with the aesthetic of the brand up front and knew that they often commissioned freelance artists for digital art pieces. One of my hopes for this project was that I’d stand out in the mind of the cafe owner and they would potentially commission me for more of my art in the suture independent of the university.

The first in person event for this placement was a breakfast meeting where we could meet the person we would be working with and learn what they wanted out of the digital shift program. The creator of black cowboy coffee, who I learnt was named Emeka, was very friendly and told me and the other person on this placement about the inspirations for his brand. What he wanted help with most was to start selling his Coffee Beans on Amazon Marketplace. The other person on placement with me was a digital marketing student so volunteered to focus on the marketplace front. During my first meeting with Emeka he said he would like an animated mascot for his website to present his products if we had time to create one. I didn’t have time to complete a fully animated mascot but I did create two still ones of his mascot with his mouth open and closed which could potentially used for that purpose at a later date. Emeka loved the mascot designs and plans on printing one out as a standee for the cafe. Emeka wanted to expand his social media presence past Instagram onto TikTok, the digital marketing student (Yanel) set an account up for him and asked me to create some graphics that could be used for the account. I decided to try and create a digital illustration for each type of coffee bean being sold in a style that matched the previous brand illlustrations Emeka had showed me. Once I learnt there was more than four types of beans though I decided to be more realistic with the amount I could get done, however I had to drop the illustrations altogether because we had to prioritise a different task. But before I moved on to product photography I read a couple of books from the university library entitled ‘Understanding comics’ and ‘Making comics’ both by Scott McCloud. I chose these books because the illustrative style of Black Cowboy Coffee was that of an American comic book and I wanted to know how to closely match that style and work in the sequential format. Emeka also mentioned that one day he would like to make a comic book featuring his black cowboy mascot and I hoped that by demonstrating my skills in the medium I could potentially be considered for that in the future.

Unlike what was specified on the handout we were given for the placement, Emeka wanted other things completing like further product photography(whilst the form said we’d be working with existing photography.) We worked out a system where Yanel was in charge of photography and I was in charge of photo and video editing. The only videos we took were of the Belgian waffles, when it came to the video editing stage I found it tricky to make the cuts feel natural. The syrup in the waffles would expand between takes and mess up the morph dissolves, I tried my best to rectify these issues but struggled to reach a result I was satisfied with. Because of this experience I want to expand upon my Premier Pro skills and take more lessons on the subject. Video editing is something I consider pretty integral to my animation skill set so whilst this information could help me with product editing once again, it can still be useful to my goal of being an animated filmmaker.

On the illustration side, I only managed to complete the cowboy mascot for the website and couldn’t finish the illustrations for the beans I had started at the beginning of the placement. When drawing the cowboy mascot I referred to the books I got from the library, ‘Making Comics’ includes a detailed guide to conveying depth in character expressions: ‘By mixing any two of our emotional primaries, we can create a third expression.’ I wanted the expression of the mascot to be kind and memorable so I used the advice in this book to create a layered appearance.I still did a lot of work on the photo editing side of things, I edited around 35 photos to be used for promotion material and delivery sites like uber eats. Through helping Yanel upload images to deliveroo and uber eats, I got a glimpse into using services I hadn’t before.

At the celebratory lunch for the end of the placement, I met some of the other Digital Shift participants. A stand out conversation I had was with a man who ran one of the companies taking part in the digital shift project. He informed me that he was currently working for East Street Market on a project to rebrand the place. I talked with him about my experience working on a market stall and how most of the markets in my hometown have been closed down. Emphasising how important I felt it was to keep these community gathering points flourishing. He seemed interested in my knowledge and we exchanged contact information in case he needed any animation work on the project in the future.

Overall this experience was extremely important to my DPS year. It was rewarding to finally land a placement outside of the DPS live briefs but also one where I could try out new skills relating specifically to the business side of design. I learnt that sometimes the job you undertake won’t be exactly as you expect but you can use the knowledge and skills you already have to adapt to the task. I know feel more prepared for potentially selling my own products one day. One thing I think I need to improve on from this experience was my communication and understanding of the client. When we were taking product photography we encountered a problem with how we understood the difference between each product. I thought that each type of bean came with two versions, 250g and 225g, with the weight being the only distinction between them. However, later on in the placement it dawned on me that the 250g bag contained full coffee beans and 225g bag contained ground coffee beans. This meant that instances where I sped up our process by just replacing the weight on photoshop to stop us having to take two photos, I had to go back and also edit in the state of the beans which should also be listed on the label of the bag. I thought I had understood this difference when we began editing the photos but evidently I didn’t, next time I need to be more observant and triple check important details like this with the client. I also learned not to get too attached to projects as I had to quit the large illustration side of the placement pretty quickly, I’m glad I still managed to fit in some illustration work but I had wished for it to be a larger aspect of my placement. I’m glad I’ve matured enough in this process to not be too deflated about that.

In March, we began the Blink Industries Live Brief. This brief was given to us by the new ‘Blink Games’ subsection of the blink industries company.  We were presented our brief in an in-person session with Nicola, a representative from Blink Games. Our brief was ‘INSERT BRIEF HERE.’ Initially I was disappointed that this brief would be tailored more towards the game design/art students. Also, because the final submission needed to be created in Unreal Engine, I thought I couldn’t use any of my more traditional art techniques in the project. As we learnt more about unreal engine, I learnt I could still fit in some analogue techniques and the game engine was more expansive in what it could achieve than I expected.

Together we came up with our idea for the animation during a brainstorming session over Microsoft Teams. We decided upon our log line which was: “A zany, unpredictable hero crashes into a surreal mixed media world and comes face to face with a corporate looking creature.” We chose all these elements after taking a look at Blink’s previous projects and we distilled blink’s creative practice into some distinct core values. These values were that of mixed media creation and bringing creative twists to mundane appearing things. With our log line decided we began work on preproduction.

I wasn’t able to attend the unreal engine tutorials since I was at work, because of this I wasn’t able to contribute myself to the file we were presenting. Despite missing out on this I still plan on testing out unreal engine in the future to learn more about it. Around this time we also delighted each member of the team a role. My role on the project was as Animator and Storyboard Artist. I was in charge of animating the puppet another team member created and half of the protagonist’s scenes. I created many storyboard over the course of the project as shots changed and I converted 2 of them into animatics. 

From the start of the project we knew we wanted to include some stop motion elements. To achieve this in Unreal Engine we realised we would have to 3D scan a model. We recieved a 3D scanning workshop during a scheduled in person session where each member of the team got a chance to try out 3D scanning a model whilst also learning about the different types of 3D scanners and the best methods to get a high quality scan. We learnt that the scanner does not work well with reflective surfaces, initially we wanted the boss character to have a metallic design due to it resembling a computer and machinery. 

I thought I’d be working alone on the stop motion as the only animation student however one of the game art students also worked with me by building the puppet by themselves. I was worried at first because it would be their first stop motion puppet but in the end it ended up feeling professional and easy to use. I learnt that I need to have more faith in my teammates skills as creatives.

When animating the puppet using the 3D scanner we had to book a time slot of 1 hour in the 3D workshop. This made me panic as I know stop motion takes a long time to complete well and I was worried it wouldn’t be nearly enough time. To counter this I simplified the action the enemy was going to take, getting down to around 10 poses. I figured having a much smaller amount of time would not only be able to cut down the time spent with the 3D scanner, it would be easier for the students working in unreal engine to import in. I am not used to compromising this much when it comes to working on a project so it was good practice to learn how to cut down on time when needed. I was mostly satisfied with the final animation of the puppet however I wish I had more control when importing it into Unreal Engine. I instructed the Unreal Engine head of the project how to position the puppet over Discord however I still feel like I didn’t have enough control of the timing used. If I could redo this project I would want to be the one to put the 3D models of the puppet into Unreal engine.

I communicated with my animation team over the online service Discord, which we found to be the most convenient resource as we were all familiar with it. We created a discord server specifically for the project with multiple text channels to remain and topic and divide assets accordingly. Using discord, we had weekly meetings that we could use to designate tasks and update each other on our progress. I found these unscheduled student only meetings to be one of the most crucial parts to the success of the project, being able to communicate with each other often and give feedback on our contributions helped us stay on schedule but also be aware if we were falling behind. In the future I want to keep up this type of communication and see if it can work out in other settings.

After we finished our animation we got to present it to the creatives at the Blink Industries studio in Camden. The day before we went to the studio I hand made my own business cards to give out, they included my email and social media. I knew that this was going to be a good time to network and make industry professionals aware of my work. When it came time for the presentation I wished I had done more preparation, I spent so much time working on the project that I didn’t set time aside to properly plan what I was going to say when we went to Blink. I ended up causing uncomfortable pauses during the presentation that made me cringe. In preparation for my next project, I will work on my public speaking skills and speech preparation.

The Blink Project gave me a new appreciation for teamwork which I had not gotten out of any team project before, the way we communicated with each other gave me faith in each team member that they could complete their tasks, unlike other experiences I’ve had in group projects I wasn’t stressed worrying about other people finishing their sections because I felt aware of where they were at with their work. In future group work I’m going to make sure to keep up this level of communication so I can work effectively.

At the start of the DPS year, I attended Inmotion Playgrounds at the Barbican. The animation festival featured presentations from many companies and individuals I respect in the industry. Some stand out lectures to me were from Nina Gantz, James Baxter and Alex Hirsch. Despite all these examples are of individuals who were not companies, I also found a lot of helpful information coming out of the speeches from Fortiche and Industrial Light & Magic.

James Baxter’s presentation focused on fundamental techniques of character animation. Baxter being a Disney artist would have been taught that twelve principles of animation outlined in ‘The Illusion of Life’ despite these principles being taught so long ago they’re still being used by animators today ‘When new artists joined the staff

they were taught these practices as if they were the rules of the trade. To everyone’s surprise, they became the fundamental principles of animation.’  Instead of sticking strict to tradition, he distilled the commonly accepted ‘12 animation principles’ from the Illusion of Life into a smaller number of categories. The new principles he proposed were: Clarity and Communication, Performance; Inertia; Timing and Spacing; Weight and Balance. As someone who found the concept of 12 principles to be an odd number with many feeling like similar things or no brainers, I found these 5 principles to make more sense and be more digestible. As someone who wants to expand upon the concept of animation instead of just following ‘holy’ rules, I liked hearing a respected veteran in the industry also try to improve on commonly held ideas of the past. One of my goals this DPS year was to build upon my fundamental animation skills and this presentation really helped me streamline my goal. Bazter’s presentation inspired me to pick up more books about legendary character animators, I read ‘The Illusion of Life’ by Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston as well as ‘The Nine Old Men’ by Andreas Deja. When studying the twelve principles and applying them I will also keep in mind Baxter’s streamlined version as a simpler way to remember what makes a realistic, effective animation. 

Whilst queuing up for the second day of the event, I took the opportunity to network with other people in the line. I met someone who was developing an interesting sounding animated pilot about cowboy bugs. During conversation, I showed them my work and they said they’d like to get me to work on part of their pilot. We exchanged details and I was added to their project discord. Meeting this individual may not have led to any opportunities within the DPS time bracket however I think this may have opened me up to some hopeful opportunities in the future. Even if I don’t get to work with this creator, I could still get my work out there by posting in their discord server. The reason I was queuing up for so long on the second day was because I wanted to secure a portfolio review with my preferred person or company. The company I was aiming to get a portfolio review with was Nexus studios as I thought their company was the one that matched my skill set best. Unfortunately, despite arriving two hours early, Nexus had run out of portfolio review slots by the time I got to the sign up sheet. Having had extra time in the line to look up other companies, I found that Treatment studio did a lot of experimental work so I chose them as a second option. I learnt from this experience that I need to get in even earlier than I expect to get the best opportunities.

Hirsch’s presentation was primarily about pitching animated tv shows and story writing. This presentation was a beneficial one to me because I feel that story writing and plot development is a weak point in my skill set which I would like the tools to improve on. I consider myself to be an experimental animator but I would still like to lean more into conventional storytelling in some aspects of my work. I also found that his advice on pitch decks could expand beyond that of a television program and be useful in many different types of pitch decks and even other situations. I found his approach to seminars to be extremely memorable and understandable, so much of his advice stuck with me due to his unparalleled stage presence. I want to be able to absorb his charisma for when I have to present something next. I intend to implement his advice in story driven projects in my future.

I unfortunately had to leave Hirsch’s presentation early to attend my portfolio review with Treatment studio. I showed two representatives from the company my current showreel to receive feedback. I got some useful advice about what to expand upon in my portfolio. They found my mixed media work to be interesting and recommended I focus on what I like and create a lot more of it. They also advised me to apply for work at their studio, which I then went on to do, as well as other studios such as Nexus, art & graft and Northhouse. They suggested I look into 3D texturing and just learn as much software as I possibly can. Initially I was nervous about booking an industry portfolio review since my portfolio isn’t where I want it to be just yet but despite this I found the experience extremely enlightening and morale boosting. I found it easy to talk to the studio representatives thanks to networking skills session ran before and at the start of the DPS year, I’m glad I attended both these sessions as I found them extremely useful when navigating the professional world. For my next portfolio review I want to be able to present a more tailored portfolio/showreel so I can receive more direct feedback.

I first saw Nina Gantz’s short film ‘Wander to Wonder’ at Anibar animation festival a few months before attending inmotion playgrounds. I was instantly taken in by the film’s world and storytelling so I was excited to learn Gantz was making an appearance in person at Inmotion Playgrounds. After her screening, Gantz  was showing attendees the puppets used in the film, I went to have a look. It was amazing to see the size of the puppets and feel the material they were made of. The experience of getting to move around a professionally made stop motion puppet gave me a new perspective on stop motion as an animated medium as I had only worked with student puppets before. This puppet was exceptionally intricate and clearly made using 3D printing, Gantz also showed off a few different faceplates that she had bought with her. It was shown in the presentation that the team had used at least 50 different face plates in the film whereas even the few I got to see in person outnumbered any I had used on a puppet myself. This presentation made the world of stop motion seem much broader and painstakingly thought out and executed. Compared to other animation mediums like 2D and 3D, I felt that a stop motion pipeline for a university project would be less realistic to the professional workplace due to the cost and scale of a stop motion production. Whereas studying 2D in University at least makes me feel like I’m getting a more truthful vision into what a workplace scenario could look like. Since releasing this I have decided to apply to be a stop motion assistant on an NFTs produced student film this summer. Despite it still being a student run production I feel it can bring me a step closer to real life stop motion experience due to the reputation the school has for stop motion and the professionally made films that have come out of the institution. I still hope to be offered a place on one of the films.

Ultimately, I found this two day experience to be one of the most formative in my DPS journey. This led me to attend more networking events for animators such as the She Drew That farewell party where I met female animators that worked for companies like The Line and Blink Industries as well as directors of indie animation projects which I followed before starting DPS. As much as I took from attending InMotion Playgrounds, it was evident that the representation in speakers and representatives was lacking. At many points during the event I would wonder if there were going to be any female speakers at all, I hope the organisers work on this for future events. This made my experience at the She Drew That event even more important to my development as a female in a male dominated industry. I hope to bring more diverse voices to the industry one day if I am ever in a position of power. The experience of attending Inmotion Playgrounds a few months before was integral to me mastering my networking communication skills and build my confidence in speaking to professionals and talented peers. Thanks to this, I feel fully confident attending more networking events in the future and hopefully I can carry this confidence into the workplace as well.

Welcome to myblog.arts. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!