OUIL 502 Presentation

Finished Promo Pack

Here is my finished promo pack! The internet plays a huge role in our lives now and I think people interact via the internet and use it more to promote themselves (because it is free, quick and easy), so I didn't want to spend too much on the physical pack. I took this into consideration and decided not to go too wild with the idea and decided to only produce the essentials. I am happy with the final outcome and I like the simplicity of the design. I think the pack as a whole reflects who I am and the kind of work that I produce, which I think is the most important thing. There is just one thing that bugs me, which is the colour of the cover - it came out more saturated and the blue is different to the blue on the business card (which is the preferred colour). I think this is due to the stock that I used? or it might be the printer, not too sure.. When it comes to distributing the physical packs (if need be), I think I will only hand them out to important people that I really want to impress/create a long lasting impression! Also, I think my photography and editing skills have improved a lot this year! proud of myself. hahaha.

OUIL 505 End of Module Evaluation

Overall this module has been a real challenge. The module encouraged me to think differently, not just in 2D but in 3D as well. The workshops at the beginning of this module also helped to better my understanding of the printing processes and the steps that I have to take in order for the colours to match my intentions. Researching into production and distribution methods was really useful and helped to direct my work and allowed me to create something that would have a specific purpose/function and would therefore be commercially viable. From undertaking this module I have understood how important it is to research and know the market and the user that you intend to produce the work for, as this will hugely impact the success of it.

Researching into products and packaging gave me a better insight to the type of work that I can potentially do and I really enjoyed this part of it – It made me realise that the possibilities are endless and I feel a little bit more excited and motivated by the prospects of it. As I created a final outcome that was quite informative, that have an aspect of education in it, I was once again reminded of the importance of research and to have an understanding of your subject matter before the planning and production of something.

Like all the modules I have undertaken so far, I have really enjoyed the production of my product but I feel that the development side of my work is really lacking; this was also identified in the final crit. I’m not quite sure what’s wrong with me but I can’t seem to experiment with different processes and visual qualities in my visual journal. As a result, I don’t think I’ve used my visual journal to its potential as I continued to work in my comfort zone. I’ve noticed that this is a repetitive thing across other modules as well. I think this is partly to do with the timescale that I have to work with – knowing that I have to have the projected completed and to produce something within a limited and set amount of time made me work to a method and process that I know will work, which is why I think I always stay within a method I’m familiar with and not giving my self the chance to explore other venues.

I also think the decision-making that went into creating/resolving the final images hasn’t been documented as well on my blog. It was said in the final crit that there isn’t much evidence of the stage that takes the images from visual journal to final images – I’m not sure of the reason for this, I felt it just kind of happened without me even thinking about it.

On the more positive side though, I have really enjoyed the module and really pleased with my final outcomes. I’m glad that people picked up upon the interactivity of the product as its strength, as this was what I wanted to achieve from the start. I did want to portray more dances and make backdrops and other props for the play pieces but the timescale of the module meant that I had to be realistic about the amount of work I put on myself. I think I’ve really improved my practical skills and I do believe that I have achieved something rather high quality and professional. I think I want to develop the product further over the summer – add more pages to the book and create more play pieces and additional products in the range. I would also like to see if I could actually sell it in the future and maybe contact some publishers to see if they’d be interested in the product.

If I were to undergo the project again, or take on a similar self-directed project, I would definitely make the identification of my target market/audience top priority. I believe that this would save me a huge amount of time and would allow me to focus and plan my work based on that, than having to go through the process blindly and without any guidance. This was what made me struggle for the first half of the module – I just wanted to produce every product under the sun and have everyone as the audience, which I later realised that this was not the wisest thing to do. All in all I believe that I have achieved something that is pretty thoroughly researched and informed, that is appealing to my target audience.

Chris Sasaki - Pixar

Today we were really quite lucky to get a visit from Chris Sasaki who works at Pixar as a character designer! I was utterly excited, as you can imagine, when I was told he was coming because this is quite literally what I want to be doing! below are some notes I took:

applied to Calarts - didn't get in.
internship at Dreamworks animation - got put in the art department
like animation but not focused on it - so did the artwork - developing characters

people like his work but they didn't think he had enough experience
tried again - and people said the same
eventually got his first job - Beer fest animation
then Disney tv etc, then Pixar
first movie - monsters university

when he gets an assignment they tell him to focus on a character
- work looks stylised but was driven from research/reference - to make things believable to the audience - authenticity - feel real. gets feedback from production managers/art directors once he gets sketches done

has to present work on pitch boards -
walks them through his thought process
- what/who the character is - the purpose in the story
important to bring in personal influences into character - so people can relate to them as well
he makes a list of ideas - whats important about the character - and walks them through it, with research he's done.

digital, traditional?
depends on timescale
likes to do things by hand/traditionally as much as possible
but tight timescales - digital, because more time effective.

when he was a student he wished he didn't rush straight into a particular/someone else's style. second year is best for figuring out what we're about. TIP: the best you can possibly do is to put your personal experiences/influences into your work - makes it more authentic - people will find it more believable.

it's important to spend a lot more time thinking when creating/designing something (a character) - why you are doing it? spend a couple of weeks researching.
why its important to you - reasons why
This will come though in the work - people will instantly be able to relate/attach themselves to the characters

Talking about school; Calarts - what makes the school so strong is that they do a lot of research before going into the production.

He didn't go to the best animation school - but its what you make out of it.
he's still learning - sculpting - because the end product at is 3d computer animation. Best if you can show them the work closer to envisioned final product.
a lot of problem solving in character design.

last year - senior year as student (portfolio):
need to have a foundation of everything - because you will need the knowledge even when you decide to focus on a specific area.
put everything in portfolio - show of all your skills
lighting, colour, design,
He had 3 portfolios - character design, environment/visual development, feature films

Character designer: requires you to think in detail
E.g. costumes: really specific - stitching, folds, type of fabric

When working on a movie, in the art department - 12 artists on a film usually at a time.

When character designing - character silhouette - important - clarity, strong gestures (exaggerate) - he was pushed to think this way from day 1 of animation school.
use characters body to tell story - shape of character should be clear by the type of personality.
constantly thinking about performance. study a lot of performances - study the characters in films. understanding why they made those decisions etc.

If they have someone already in mind (voice) character is built around on that to compliment actors voice. but usually they focus on design first.

rejected characters go into their archive - sometimes go into a show and gets put into art books. (but mostly forgotten)

Important to have your own personal projects - to keep pushing yourself as an artist - he is writing his own stories right now, and he wants to illustrate a book.

Work your way up, you don't have to go straight for the big ones like Disney, Pixar, etc. slow but steady.

So grateful that he was able to spare his time to come talk to us! It was really such an insightful thing and I will take into consideration all of the things he said and I hope we get more people from the industry come to talk to us because I really enjoyed it! aaaahhhhhhhh!

uhhhhh.. did he just follow me on instagram?

*flips out*