Advanced Animation

 LIU ZIYU /0367533/

Design principles/Bachelor of Design in Creative Media

 Advanced Animation

Exercise

In the first seven weeks of the course, the teacher assigned us a series of basic exercises to help us understand and master the ways to express character movements. These exercises included ball, flour sack, walk, and jump. Through the ball and flour sack exercises, I learned how to express the state of different objects through weight, rhythm, and trajectory; while the walk and jump exercises helped me better understand the continuity of movements, changes in the center of gravity, and the logic of body movement. These exercises laid the foundation for my subsequent learning.

Below is my homework/exercise：

ball

floursack

floursack 2

walk

jump

Project 1

This project requires us to create a short animation of approximately 15–30 seconds in length. You can use your own original story or dialogue clips from movies. Voice-over is optional. Depending on the final visual requirements, you will need to create corresponding scene or stage models to complete the entire shot.

Animatics is a mandatory part of the production process and can be presented using 2D or 3D blockout. The project submission includes: a storyboard, personal performance references (self-recorded movements or performances), annimatics (including scene settings), and sound design. All content needs to be compiled in playblast or video format and combined according to the timing of the movements and key poses to form a complete shot.

Below is my project 1

Project 2

This project builds upon Project 1, continuing the production of a short animation. We need to add in-betweens and clean-up to the existing animation to further refine the smoothness of the movements and the overall presentation. Simultaneously, we need to adjust the camera angles based on the storyboard content to ensure that the body language and animation in the scenes are more vivid and engaging, and conform to the confirmed storyboard.

This assignment requires the following: clean-up of the animation (including timing, tweening, stage direction, and the application of the twelve principles of animation), confirmation of scenes and shots (including camera movement or static settings), refinement of scene assets, preliminary design of sound effects, and basic lighting setup. All content must be compiled in Playblast or video format and ultimately merged into a single complete shot, outputting at 1080p, 25fps, QuickTime (H.264 or Animation).

Below is my project 2

Project 3

This project builds upon Project Two, culminating in a complete and highly detailed short animation. The animation requires further polishing and compositing with voice-over and sound effects. Each shot needs layered rendering, including foreground, midground, and background. An intro title should be included, and motion graphics or 2D animation elements may be added if necessary.

This assignment requires the following: animation polishing, rendering layering and rendering passes, final organization of scene assets, voice-over and sound effects design, and compositing and editing. All content must be organized in Playblast or video format and ultimately combined into a single complete shot, outputting at 1080p, 25fps, QuickTime (H.264 or Animation).

Below is my project 3

Reflection

Through completing this series of projects, I gained a clearer understanding of the entire animation production process. From early story conception, storyboarding, and animatics, to mid-stage animation production and clean-up, and finally to post-production rendering, compositing, and editing, each stage is interconnected and influences the final result. During production, I realized the importance of early planning, especially storyboarding and animatics; insufficient early planning leads to more time being spent on later animation and camera adjustments.

During the animation production stage, I gained a more practical understanding of timing, motion flow, and the twelve principles of animation, particularly in the polishing stage, where repeated adjustments to details are necessary to make character movements appear more natural. Furthermore, the addition of voice acting, sound effects, and lighting significantly improved the overall visual quality and highlighted the interplay between sound and visuals in animation.

Overall, this project improved my technical and process understanding, and also revealed my shortcomings in time management and detail control. These experiences will greatly benefit my future animation studies and creation.