Busy Busy SO VERY BUSY

Basically.

It’s been a while since I updated this thing and quite frankly, I suck for that. Quite a lot has been happening college, comic and life wise and I really think it’s about time I actually said what was going on. It’s got the potential to be a long one though so go make a sandwich for yourself or something, I can wait.

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You back? Kay, good.

Work Experience- Talking To Kids About Animation

Alright so let’s start with the earliest thing. A couple blog entries ago, I mentioned that Stephanie had invited us to have a talk with some of the kids she teaches about the different kinds of animation that can be done. So on the 31st January, Ashleigh and I (Rachel wasn’t able to attend) made our way to Darlington to talk to the local primary school. It was quite a fun trip considering that I can be quite wary of kids sometimes. But they all seemed to behave themselves and any that got a little vocal were told to hush by the teacher. Ahh school days.

Ashleigh had made a PowerPoint for the occasion and we talked about what we knew, answering some questions (they all seem particularly interested in knowing how Halo was made... couldn’t exactly help them there!) and showing examples of our work and others. We also shared The Great Experiment with them, with Stephanie showing the artwork and characters she and the children created and the fnished result that Me, Ashleigh and Callum Boyd came up with. I'm gonna just share it again. Just because.

It was interesting visiting a school. I remember being one of those little kids listening to a visitor come in and give a talk so it was quite an experience being on the other side of that. They were sweethearts as well. One of the classes had a birthday boy and he gave Ashleigh and I a cake each, as well as the rest of the class. And a little girl wrote on her board saying “Goodbye Ash and Emma”. I then fell into a diabetic shock. Although that might be my diet talking.

We might be going back in April to help out with something. We shall see...

All Animated Meetup

A friend of mine sent me a link to this meetup, which brings animators of different disciplines together to share their work and experiences. It was free to attend but a ticket still needed to be printed and presented. Just last week, after college, I made my way down there and met other students and even some professionals. Everyone was extremely friendly and it was really interesting seeing everyone’s work. I decided to share you, dear blog, to the group, as well as my show reel. People seemed quite impressed with it and I got some very helpful advice about flash. They seemed to think I used it already, which I think is a good sign!

If anyone from that meetup is reading right now, hello there! It was nice to meet you! And if I didn’t actually speak to you, I hope to do so at the next meet up! I certainly intend on going to another in Newcastle.

Actually, you might as well watch this video (there are also other ones in the related videos bar at the side) where, if you’ve ever wondered what I look or sound like, this video will be your salvation. Or something. You can also laugh at me casually sticking a cup to my face!

Good times.

Results for Project Planning

63

Aaaawwww yeeeeeeeeah.

Like I said before, my aim is to get 60 or more in my modules and I was disappointed with my last results. My VIVA I didn't expect to do well in but for my Project Proposal essay, I was 2% off my goal! AAAGGHH! So much more satisfied this time.

Now onto the Project Development. As far as I'm aware, this module consists of a portfolio of progress. So While I'm not entirely sure what that entails, I'm just going to go with my gut instinct.

Development Portfolio

So far, I have a vague story planned out. However, I need to find out exactly how it's going to start, dialogue, what characters are going to be introduced first, when, how and so on. All that fun stuff. So there's a lot of writing rather than actual artwork being done at the moment.

And I do want to get more drawing done. I want to plan out comic pages, get more shirt designs done (I've decided to stick with the Birdbrained slogan for now- I can always do new slogans later), more character sheets for new characters and so on. But I do have some unfinished work to share, just so you know what I'm currently working on at the moment. Bear in mind, these are not final results and are subject to change here and there.

Potential front page artwork for the first arc.
Quite happy with the overall look, I don't believe I did too bad on the perspective. Need more practice on the buildings though. Feel free to give any advice or critique if you can.

Jay being sassy.
Just come character exploration, in all honesty. I considered using it as a t-shirt design but it doesn't feel 'lively' enough, if that even makes sense. I may be using an older design for Jay's shirt. Stick around.

Blue with a new look for her legs.
I'm not sure about it for the normal sized pigeons.  The look works fine for Scarlet and V/Fawkes (who will be introduced later) but less so for the others, I think. Might try it a bit more before I make up my mind for sure though.
No, she's not looking at Jay's crotch. I really didn't think this placement through.
She looks quite unimpressed/disgusted. This amuses me more than it should.

Potential gag comic idea that came out of nowhere. Green's weight is something of a recurring joke.But c'mon, he BIG. I thought it would be humorous for Tweak, who is lighter than a twig, to be catapulted through a tree branch with Green being a dick about it.
I really like the layout, the motion seems to come across nicely and, for some reason, I especially love the CRUNCH! effect. I think this comic might be one I won't have to make many changes to bar from speechbubble text and overall detail. And colour, obviously.

Yes, Crumbs has a pug now. Don't look at me like that, it was bound to happen eventually.
Just some daft character reaction/expressions/attempt to draw a pugs proportions more realistically. As the pigeon's proportions are realistic for the most part, I need to make sure the pug fits in or he'll stick out like a sore thumb. More so.

Here, the shape of the legs look much better in my opinion. It helps her look taller, which pouter pigeons generally are from what I've seen.
I really want to colour this, it's one of my favourite Scarlet pictures to date.

I follow the Pigeon Jon account on twitter and one tweet was about him crapping on a chihuahua and it going absolutely mental. I couldn't resist drawing it out. And, I'm not ashamed to admit it, I'm sniggering right now. Love it. I think it's the fact that you don't actually see the chihuahua going nuts but rather the pigeon's reactions to it that makes it funny? Or maybe I'm just a sad sack that laughs at her own jokes. Hey, someone has to!
For the most part, the finished result will stay the same but I think I need to practice drawing the chihuahua a bit more. Same as with the pug, I want it's proportions to fit in with the world so I need a bit more practice.

And finally, a new character. I was intrigued with the overall look of the Jacobin pigeon and I thought he would be a good ally for Scarlet for- *ahem* SPOILERY REASONS THAT I CAN'T SHARE AT THE MOMENT.
I can't decide whether to call him V or Fawkes. If anyone has a preference, please share.

I also have a plan for how the Crumbs website might look but I'm unsure of sharing it yet. I may share rejected designs at a later date but the finished look will only be shared once the website is live.

Well, that's all I have for you right now. And, I'll tell ya, this blog entry took me over THREE HOURS to write. No, I'm serious, three hours. The college net isn't the fastest, finding the videos was a pain and of course having to upload the pictures to photobucket rather than directly to the site is just... dhdjkhdj

I'm going to drown myself in mocha now while I attempt more story planning. Have a good day!