Final Major Project - Final Statement (Original Version)

I began this project with a single intention, to explore the ideas and concepts generated by the word ‘Puppet’. This desire came about after a deep reflective process in which I examined the reasons I enjoyed the various projects of the last year and came to a conclusion, the main aspect of computerised animation (and perhaps animation in general) that I love is the act of manipulating the things I create. I find it such an interesting process to see how I can get across a figure’s feelings and personality only through its movements and actions. This act of control (or ‘Puppeteering’ if you like) is where the main focus for this project began, and even after over ten weeks of working I don’t think I’ve strayed from that core concept. 

Following on from the previous project I continued seeing how far I could push my abilities working in Maya. Having only been using the program for a month or so before I began this project I wasn’t entirely sure just what my limited skills would allow me to create when I started but I feel through rigorous experimentation and pushing my limits during the previous weeks I have definitely grown as an animator. Both my technical skills and understanding of the program and animation as a whole far exceed what I could have expected when I began. The short experimental animation I made in week 3, ‘Burlap’, was a definite step forward in my progression, truthfully the main reason I did it was to see if I could take the knowledge I learned from the project before and condense it, and create a worthwhile animation in a short amount of time. Going from design sketches, to creating a model, texturing said model then animating it in a couple of days is a feat I am honestly proud of, and though I know it’s nothing special for the industry it felt great to set myself a personal goal and completely smash it on my first attempt.

Sadly I did later run into walls my own limits created. While creating the final piece I originally wanted the wire-like arms of my model to be fully manipulable, as if they were really pieces of flexible wire, but due to lacking the right amount of technical skill I was unable to pull off such a piece. Perhaps if I’d had more time I would have made an effort to research how other animators would do such a thing and implement it in the project. In the end I settled for a set of arms that mimicked the effect decently well and it looks fine in the final product, though I would have loved to have them just they way I wanted.

During the project I had regular meetings with my tutor, John, to help keep my work ‘on track’ and at one point (after creating a simple animation to test my model) John called over a few of the other animators in the group to have a look and they seemed to be impressed, which for someone who has had massive problems with self-esteem (especially when concerning my artwork) this simple act was a huge boost in confidence that kept me moving through some of the slower parts of the project. This was also the event that would later spur me into overcoming my insecurities enough to show my project to some of my friends. Thanks to this a large part of my final piece changed (for the better, in my opinion) when my friend suggested that I made my model ice skate instead of perform ballet. Its interesting how a simple action can cause a chain of events like that, perhaps that will be a project for another time, cause and effect.

I cannot lie, I am typically neglectful when it comes to researching artists that influence me and this project was no different. I probably should have spent a little more time looking at some artists in more detail, but I suppose I just prefer to get a general ‘overview’ of things instead of delving too deep into one or two artists work. This is probably why I prefer to start a project by making a simple moodboard.

There was however one artist (or artists plural actually) that I took a detailed look at. Stephen Quay and Timothy Quay, or simply the Brothers Quay as they’re better known. The way they use very little colour and but massive amounts of contrast and light. The stilted, jerky motions of their models. The general creepy yet intriguing tone of their animations. These are just the things I picked up on within the first 10 seconds of watching their work and it was a great influence to my project. I spent a great amount of time watching ‘Street of Crocodiles’ over and over in some fleeting effort to decode any meaning or reason behind anything featured. The use of audio in particular amazes me and was the main reason I desired so strongly for the audio and animation in my piece to ‘match’.

This project has a been an amazing experience for me, before this year I never thought I’d enjoy working this much. I can’t wait to continue animating in my spare time and I’m really looking forward to the next few years. This project has proven to me that I without a doubt a good animator. Not excellent or even great, just good. And that I enjoy it. A lot. And that is what matters most to me, I never would have said I was good at anything a year ago. The pace of the project is something that really stands out for me, I went through each week at my own pace, never really pushing myself too far and yet never feeling like I hadn’t done enough. Which is good, because I truly think this is when I work best. So long as I also combine it with a small section of rush right at the end, to keep me on my toes. For me personally, this is my most successful period ever. 

As for the future I’m not sure exactly what I’ll do, though I know I’ll keep animating no matter what. But not along the same lines as what I did here. Probably. One of the weeks in the project I dedicated entirely to finding a way of getting across expression and emotion without having a ‘manipulable face’. This is what I want to do next, even in drawing I have never been good at faces and when it comes to 3D animation I’ve never even tried, I’ve always found some way around it. Perhaps over the summer I’ll work on learning how to animate a human face, with proper expressions and everything.