The Message, Walk Cycles

Friday 28th October - Another Walk Cycle

I tried another walk cycle from 'The Animators Survival Kit'. the walk cycle I looked at is one page 143 where you take the down position and push it down even further. There were no broken joints on this one. This is the result...

This looked more normal than I expected. I didn't emphasize the down position as much I thought I had. However I feel that it still gives the character....character! This walk cycle was a lot simpler than the other walk cycles I tried from the book. It may not be as visually exciting but I like it! If I was to do it again I think I would make the down position even lower to see what effect it would give and whether it would still look right. 

Design For Society

Rough Thumbnail Storyboard

I have also done a rough thumbnail storyboard in my sketchbook for the Design for Society brief. First I wrote out the key information in bullet points  for low energy light bulbs and then I took each point and did a frame/images for each one in an order that makes sense.

I am generally very happy with this rough story board, it's very simple but I think that it puts the message across easily but boldly. I'm going to tweak it a bit to make it smoother and stronger, with possibly a bit of humour so it doesn't come across as too serious. I feel that if it's serious people may switch off. That or I may try to make it a little abstract and visually exciting to try and capture the audience. I'll see which idea works best. 

The Message - Character Behaviour

Rough Thumbnail Storyboard

I've come up with a rough thumbnail storyboard in my sketchbook for the character behaviour brief to go with the diary entry. I took one line for each thumbnail...

I'm not completely happy with this, if you was to look at it without the words next to it you wouldn't have any idea as to what  is going on, and I feel that its all over the place. I need to have another look at it, tweak it, make more understandable and stronger. I think it will help if I look into images of dry stone walling etc, I also feel that to answer the brief better the character needs to interact with his environment more as most of the time he is just standing in the scene talking. Overall I feel that this is a good starting point for me to develop it further.

Design For Society - Animatics

Animatics Research

As I wasn't sure as to what an animatic entailed and involved I looked it up on you tube. I watched a number of videos, all very different, some smoother than others and some more professional. These are the videos I watched...

"Joust"

The action in this was very smooth for an animatic, the images went well with the different sounds. I thought that it was well timed.

"The Gorillaz- Dirty Harry"

This is a well known music video, its nice to see how the animatic was done by a professional, where as with "Joust" I'm not too sure how professional the person did it is and whether they did it the proper way...or if there even is a 'proper' way of doing it. This video was much jumpier than the first but it still gave you the feel of what the animation would be like and how the image is going to go with the music. 

"Dustfort" 

I found this one quite confusing and not very easy to follow. But it still gave me an idea as to how to make an animatic.

"Pompons et Crepage de Chignon"

This animatic was the loosest of all of them and found it quite exciting to watch. The pace was good and it certainly put across how the final film would feel well. 

Now I have had a look at different animatics and got a feel for what an animatic actually is I feel more confident about making my own. 

Design For Society 29th October

Notes and Research

Without having a survey completed by anyone, it's evident in the article I found on BBC news webpage that this is clearly an issue and that the public needs to be informed about this! 

Now I know the what topic/issue I'm going to do my animatic on I need to start collecting images and start to design what it's going to look like. I also need to research animatics as I've never done one before!

Maya Tutorial 25th October 2011

Textures

For this tutorial we learnt how to give objects (in this case a sphere) a texture. 

The first one we created was a smooth shiny texture that was blue...

And the second one was where we made the texture all lumpy to try and make it look like an orange. Mine is too lumpy and so needed to soften the bumps more.

And for the third we opened up photoshop and did a quick paint job of camouflage, opened it up in maya and made it the texture. 

I found this lesson interesting, but I had a few problems  with all the windows, at one point one of the window maximised and wouldn't let me restore it back down. And so I lost track of what the tutor was saying. I think once I do it a few times I'll remember, it's just getting to know all of the buttons and lists etc first. 

The Message, Character Behaviour

Remember the diary entry 'Dry Stone Walling'  on Borough Farms website that I liked? Well I emailed them asked whether I could use it for my animation and they replied!

So I can use the entry but not the poem, which I' not too fussed about!  So now I know what my animation is going to be about, all I need to do now is work out how I'm going to do it and develop the farmer as a character!

Contextualising Design 20th October

Design Thinking

This lecture was about 'design thinking' and was packed full of information and quotes. This was the opening quote..

"We are all designers. All that we do, almost all of the time is design, for design is basic to all human activity."

-Victor Papanek

The very first message was that the most important thing about design is how it relates to people, I agree with this as design needs to relate to people for people to be able to relate to design. If design didn't relate to people then there would be no reason for design.

"Design is the conscious and intuitive effort to impose meaningful order."

-Victor Papanek

Design is 'a problem solving activity that enables designers to determine creative solutions to communicate problems.' 

I think this is true in a lot of design, for example in animation you have first hand public information films but then you also have the likes of Disney and Pixar films that don't express problems directly to the audience but do it subtly through lots of different situations that happen in the films, the same is done in illustration but through still images. In product design they look at previous products and find their problems and try to improve them or make something better etc. 

Victor Papanek designed The Function Complex- 

- Method 

-Use 

-Need 

-Telesis

-Association

- Aesthetics

I understood what all of the the words meant, except one - Telesis, I had never heard of it in my life! So I looked up the definition...

Telesis - The purposeful use of natural and social processes to obtain specific social goals.

This gave me some sort of idea as to what it meant but not fully. 

Six Phases of Production and Resulting Pollution

-Choice of Material

-Manufacturing Process

-Packaging of Product

-The Finished Product

-Transportation

-Waste

I was quite confused when this came up as I didn't understand as to how this related to what was being said previously, of course I understand these are very important things to consider and think about when designing something. But it made sense when we were shown the tutors 'Ten Commandments' that she made herself..

The Ten Commandments of Design

1. Remember, the most important thing about design is how it relates to people. 
2. Thou shalt endeavour  to be a responsible designer and strive to make the world a better place
3. Thou shalt consider function, "What does it do?", "Is it useful?", "Does it do the job for which it is intended?"
4. Thou shalt consider audience, "Who is it for?", "What is being communicated and why?"
5. Thou shalt consider the economic, cost effectiveness of manufacture with due regard to you client.
6. Thou shalt not choose materials and processes that pollute the air we breathe, but appropriate eco friendly ones.
7. Thou shalt not squander skills devising unnecessary gizmos and trinkets or consider fancy techniques that are not pertinent to the idea or concept
8. Thou shalt choose appropriate design methods and techniques that both solve the problem and are aesthetically pleasing
9. Thou shalt be self-critical and evaluate the political environment in which design takes place.
10. Thou shalt always keep an ethical vision in mind and consider social consequences for the rest of society. 

These are very important messages and things to think about when designing. 

The Cox Review

"Design is what links creativity and innovation. It shapes ideas to become practical and attractive propositions for users or customers. Design may be described as creativity deployed to a specific end."

-Sir George Cox

 I completely agree with this, it's like I said earlier on, product designers take something that has been made before and solves the problem of how to improve it or to make something completely different that is better by being innovative as well as creative. 

What is your design philosophy?

Three Constructs of Design

- Being able to apply skills appropriately

Design is about doing

- Being able to meet the needs of society

Design is about interpreting

-Being able to communicate

Design is about living

Design Philosophy

-The values of design

- The importance of having a design philosophy and developing a design thinking mindset.

Design Thinking Mindset

-Design is about being human centred

-really great designers care about the people they are designing for

-Another attribute of design is that it is collaborative

It was said that some designers 'design philosophy' is to make the design look good aesthetically but others also think about the message that the design is given and the reason for the design. I would say that I am mainly a designer that looks at the aesthetics, up until the start of this year where we have been looking at 'the message' behind our work. I have come to appreciate that for a design to be strong it needs to relate to its particular audience it is aimed at, it needs to have message and it needs to make sense- everything must have a reason for being there in the design. Otherwise (especially in animation) it won't be believable to the audience and they won't understand it. 

"A plan for an artefact or system of artefacts."

- Dictionary Definition of Design

"Today we need a broader definition of design in which the key measurement is not styling, but performance."

- Marty Neumeier

"Everyone designs who devises courses of action aimed at changing existing situations into preferred ones."

- Herbert Simon

"Design is change"

-Change by Design

"Design is all around you; everything man-made has been designed, whether consciously or not."

-Matt Hunter, Chief Design Officer from the Design Council

The question therefore isn't so much 'what is design and why does it matter?' but 'how can I use good design to make the world around me better?' 

This is a very big statement, it seems impossible to make the world a better place by design, but then you look at Matt Hunters quote and think about it. EVERYTHING MAN MADE HAS BEEN DESIGNED, from the buttons on your mouse and keys on your keyboard to the village, town or city you live in and beyond. Looking out of my window I can only say that the only things that aren't man-made are the sky, the clouds in it, possibly a couple of trees peaking over the top of some houses and some weeds in the front garden, everything else is man-made and has been designed. Therefore the statement may not be as far fetched as first thought, maybe the world could be made at least a little better (lets face it, this world will never be perfect) or if not then maybe make certain groups and communities better. This may be going deep but just think, if we scrapped everything that has been designed in the world and redesigned it all - for the better, how different this world could actually be? 

What is meant by impact?

Constructs of Impact

Make a difference

Able to influence

Remembered

Help others

Communicate effectively

Change society

Stir emotion

Persuade

Preserving the environment

Design Thinking and the T Shaped Designer

-USA influences

-High profile consultancies such as IDEO and Jump

-Design thinking has evolved to become something more important and influential in today's world

-It is important to understand the difference between being a designer; discovering the power of design thinking

The T Shaped Designer

Breadth of Knowlegde

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|

Depth of

|

|

Values of

The tutor then said "Design Thinking is like 'The Force' in Star Wars." By this she meant that it takes a lot to master but once mastered it can be a very powerful thing. I loved her comparison. 

"Design thinking relies on our ability to be intuitive, to recognise patterns, to construct ideas that have emotional meaning as well as functionality, to express ourselves in media other than words and symbols."

-Tim Brown, Change by Design 2009

The Design Process

• The British Design Council
• To explore broader knowledge and understanding of the design process
• Double Diamond Design Process (Discover, Define, Develop, Deliver)

The double diamond process is an interesting process that can be used when designing. So Discover is like research where you discover something, you then Define it, Develop it and then Deliver the final product. I find this process very similar to what I have been doing so far for my briefs.

"There are useful starting points and landmarks, but the road to innovation consists of overlapping spaces or paths, rather than a sequence of steps in one direction."

-Tim Brown, Change by Design 

The first stage of the design process is often discovering and evaluating constraints. the acceptance of these are important in design thinking.

• Feasibility (what is functionally possible)
• Viability (what is likely to become part of a sustainable business model)
• Desirability (what makes sense to people and for people)

The aim of a design thinker is to form a solution that is a harmonious balance between all three.

The Importance of Embracing Design Thinking

Linking design thinking principles and practices to becoming T shaped designers whereby you can help businesses, gain employment and create meaningful impact on society.

• To apply the principles and methods of design thinking into creative design practice
• To promote the role of a T shaped designer and extend employment opportunities.
• To empower you with the attributes of design thinking that will enable you to create meaningful impact through your work and ultimately benefit business and society as a whole. 

Design Thinking Methodology

• Taking a human centre approach to problem solving
• What is possible from the use of materials, media and techniques
• What is viable from a financial and business point of view
• Mindful of many moral and philosophical rules
• Educating the client
• Good communication skills
• Craft Skill
• A sense of entrepreneurial flair
• Many considerations that are all fluid at the same time and often extremely complex

Creative Graduates Creative Futures

• More importance must also be placed on entrepreneurship and networking skills
• Employment increasingly comes from collaborating with others from a variety of sources
• Design thinking comes from having a broad interdisciplinary mindset
• promoting design thinking across other disciplines enables the ability to tackle new projects and solve problems in new ways
• There is a learning process that comes from working on complex issues and exploring new frontiers in unfamiliar territory.

From this I have learnt what can make you a good designer, a different way at looking at design and how to approach it, the importance of design - good design in particular, that its good to collaborate and how design thinking will expand your employability. I found this a very interesting lecture and learnt quite a lot from it! 

The Message, Character Behaviour 21st October

This is some research I did on diary's that farmers have written.

I would like to use the dry stone walling diary entry for my animation

Design For Society 21st October

I found the information on low energy light bulbs interesting. I had no idea that you had to open window etc if they smashed..I didn't even know that they contain mercury as it doesn't say on the packaging. This may be something that needs to be informed to the public more than it is. I will also do a survey on this to see who knows this and who doesn't! 

Life Drawing Session Three

Thursday 20th October

The first half of the life drawing session was a review of our first walk cycle. In the second half we did long drawings as we didn't have the tutor there to direct the life model as she was reviewing the other half of the classes cycles. It was nice to have time to look at the figure for longer and look at shadows etc on the body- something that we don't manage to include when doing quick sketches. These are my drawings

I did this one quite quickly, but wasn't happy that the feet were cut off

I spent quite a long time on this one, I was happy that I managed to fit the feet in this time.  I am very happy with the outcome of this one.

I did this one in a shorter amount of time that the others. his left arm is too small and body and legs are generally too short and too wide for the proportions of his body!

The body of the life model is much better proportion wise in this one but the left arm still isn't right, and his head is too far over and too big!

Overall I'm pleased with the outcome of the drawings, although I do feel that I gain more from doing quick sketches rather than spending a while on one image. 

Maya Tutorial

Maya Tutorials

In the last two weeks I've been having tutorials on Maya, the 3D animation programme! I had no idea what to expect when I first started, I had no idea what was involved and how the films like Shrek etc was made... apart from it being made on a computer. 

The first time I had a go on it I tried using the help videos in the programme to learn the basics, even this overwhelmed me (probably because I had no sound and so must of the time didn't know what it was telling me to do!) I got frustrated with it and stopped. 

Then the second time our tutor walked us through the basics step by step, this was much better than the videos...even though I could see what she was doing on the screen and could only hear what she was saying (it's funny how words can be clearer than images and actions, and visa versa sometimes!). So she taught us how to move around the programme and all the basic actions, what the main button were and what they did, how to make a key frame animation and how to save a scene. 

And then on the third tutorial she showed us the basics of nurbs and polygons, how to model using both and how to smooth polygons. We first made a vase with nurbs (Unfortunately I forgot to get an image of this), then a hand with polygons and finally a very basic face/head. This is my hand...

I'm very pleased with this seeing as it was my first time modelling. I look forward to learning more about Maya...as long as it's from my tutor or I have sound on any video tutorials I use!

The Message

Notes and Research in Notepad for Character Behaviour Brief!

Design For Society

Notes and Research in Notepad

And these are two charts that I made using the results of the survey after two days. The first one is of the actual results and the second is how it should look if everyone knew what can be recycled and can't be recycled.

for Books and glass milk bottles they all got it wrong. The object that got the most not sure's was foil, and bricks and rubble, aerosols, window pane, engine oil,  juice and milk cartons, fridges etc, hearing aids, light bulbs, yoghurt pots and light bulbs all got at least one 'not sure'. Some people don't think you can't recycle aerosols, soil, foil, engine oil, batteries and fridges etc of which you can for all of them! And then some people think you can recycle books, bricks and rubble, glass milk bottles, window panes and hearing aids when you can't!

Notice I haven't mentioned Light Bulbs and on the second graph it has both yes and no, this is because certain type of light bulbs you can recycle and some you can't. Maybe I should have put the different types of bulb on the survey, this would have given me a clearer understanding as to whether they knew what light bulbs they can and can't recycle. 

Overall I think that it's perfectly clear that there is a lot of confusion amongst people as to what they can and can't recycle, and this needs resolving by educating them about it.