Evaluation of work

Final Evaluation

Animation has always held a strong interest for me; I’ve always wondered how animators for games and movies are able to create such realistic characterisation. I had studied drama at A level and I believe it has been a valuable source in helping to make animation a subject I can connect with easier.

The workshops we have done within class has really opened my eyes to the world of animation, from the amount of time and concentration needed, to the skills required to perform the range of different types of animation. Having next to nothing in understanding how animation works within 3D software, I felt that every little piece of the workshop learned, helped me gain confidence in myself to create an animation. Having learned about the 12 rules of animation and some important tips from lead animators such as Richard Williams, I knew when performing an animation what I needed to consider before approaching the task. Although the workshop lessons were 3D animation based, I gained good knowledge of the rules required in general animation.

My final animation was something I was really looking forward to making; it allowed me to put my skills and knowledge gained from all the workshops performed in class to the test. Writing a storyboard out and following the 12 rules of animation when creating my final animation, all came into play to help me to keep me on track and portray everything scene to scene that I wanted to deliver. I used Maya to perform my animation instead of 3ds Max, I feel from using Maya that my skills and knowledge learned from the workshop lessons could all be applied anywhere within any animation software package. I think I demonstrated this within my final animation. The main functions and order in which is needed to make an animation are all roughly the same, and used in the same way when approaching an animation. I am pleased with my final animation, but would own up to being disappointed with some areas, walking and movements. I know my animation is cheesy but this is something I wanted to get across, it was meant to be upbeat and full of energy and I feel I achieved this.

I am generally pleased with all the work I have done in this module from my final animation to all the work conducted in the workshop. If I were to do anything again within this module, I would want to improve my understanding of how walks and body language could be performed better within 3D software. I feel this is my weakest part of animation, however these are all things that I can learn and improve outside of the college and module to better myself.