Monday, 31 May 2010
Half term work
please note that you should have done the work below for a 2d artist (like a painter) who isnt a cartoonist or animator and also for a 3d artist who also doesn't work in animation.
Task 1: Choose your artist and get 4 good quality copies of their work.
Task 2: Write a brief biography about who they are and their most well known work and any other important personal information.
Task 3: using the following 5 headings write about the artist. (if you don't understand what the words mean, try googling them and the artists name. you are on the internet so you don't really have an excuse for not knowing these things!)
Subjects, themes, issues
Movements, styles
Context of work
materials and processes
events, trends
Thursday, 8 April 2010
Silent Witnesses: Graphic Novels Without Words
Best of all its free
Silent Witnesses: Graphic Novels Without Words
Curated by Darren Diss
Artists include: Lars Arrhenius, Hendrik Dorgathen, Eric Drooker, Max Ernst, Matt Forsythe, Alexandra Higlett, Laurence Hyde, Jason, Andrzej Klimowski, Peter Kuper, Chris Lanier, Frans Masereel, Otto Nuckel, Shaun Tan, Zoe Taylor, Lynd Ward, Sara Varon and Jim Woodring.
This exhibition brings together the work of internationally recognised artists and illustrators from around the world working in Graphic Novel form. Spanning publications from the early twentieth century to the present day, the works contained in the exhibition are distinct in that all use the capacity of images alone to communicate narrative, functioning entirely without the use of text.
The exhibition celebrates the book form and in particular the Graphic Novel as an increasingly popular medium for artists and explores its enduring appeal to readers of all ages. By focussing on works without text it examines the underlying structure and mechanics of developing a Graphic Novel, exposing it as a unique art form. It looks at the Novel in the true sense, as an extended sequence conveying a narrative. The show includes preparation and working drawings, writings, flat plans, sketch books and character studies and associated works alongside complete book-works to reveal the various developmental stages in creating a Graphic Novel.
The exhibition combines works from a wide range of cultural contexts, from modern popular Graphic Novels, with scratchboard images by Eric Drooker produced for his novel ‘Flood’, to woodcuts by Frans Masereel for his his 1925 work ‘Die Stadt’, to original drawings by Sara Varon for her well loved books, ‘Sweater Weather’, ‘Robo and Hund’ and ‘Chicken and Cat’. Also in the show will be a large scale flat-print version of ‘A-Z’ by Lars Arrhenius, a novel produced on the iconic A-Z map of London. Shown in print form it allows the viewer to scan the intersecting narratives sewn through the map in a single image, creating ever new readings.
Works for the exhibition have been loaned to The Collection from the British Museum, Moderna Museet, Stockholm, Klinspor Museum, Offenbach, Scott Eder Gallery, New York, and from the exhibiting artists.
The show’s curator, Darren Diss, is an established illustrator and Senior Lecturer in Illustration at The University of Lincoln. He has a specialist academic research interest in Textless Narratives.
Friday, 29 January 2010
COOP Film festival

I want to enter your final Unit 3 animations for this so make sure you make them awesome!
Also if you get your work shown, we can make use of it for Unit 4 next year!
Unit 1 Evaluation
1.You need to get client feedback off me to stick into your sketchbook before you evaluate your work.
2.You must include a written evaluation in your sketchbook, the following questions will help you cover all of the areas you need to meet the criteria of the specification. Do not answer the questions directly, instead use them to help shape your overall essay style evaluation.
Which of your 3 ideas have you chosen to take forward into a final animation?
Why have you chosen it?
How does your idea fit the brief set?
What Artists/Designers work has helped you develop your final Idea
What client feedback have you received?
Did your research help you? If not what would you do differently, and If it did help, how so?
What changes and modifications have been made to your idea?
What problems have you faced? And how did you overcome them.
What is the plan for your final animation in unit 3?
Monday, 25 January 2010
Finishing Unit 1
the specification requires the following evidence
Investigation into brief
Feedback from client (this will be done with me, as soon as you've finished your finished designs I can give you feedback to go into your sketchbook before your evaluation.)
Generation of initial ideas (this will be evidenced through your thumbnail sketches)
How artists/designers work has been used (you must annotate your work and explain how the artists you have looked at have influenced your work)
How ideas have been changed (annotations need to explain any alterations or changes)
Final range of Ideas Presented (A3 photoshop file ready to print off)
Evaluation
Once you have done the above work its time to evaluate your work. your evaluation must include analyse and reflections on the following:
Research and investigation
Changes and modifications
Client/audience feedback
Problems and how they were overcome
Opportunities for future work
Sunday, 1 November 2009
Backgrounds and concept art

The next examples is a really good way to show that you have used reference and thought through your background designs Have a look at it and I suggest maybe trying to put together similiar piece for your own animation ideas.

Below are some very detailed designs from the Halo series of games.

Designs below are for comercials made by some design agencies.


The next two designs are for James Cameron's latest film 'Avatar'
Character and concept designs
I hope you notice how different each of the character designs look to each other. the theme and mood of the animation you plan to make will influence how you present your work, so keep your designs inventive, creative and exciting!
have a look at the examples below and if you need to go look for other examples either on line or in some of the 'making of' or 'the art of' books that get brought out when films are released.
Design sketches from 'the forgotten'

Character designs from Wolfenstein 3D


Characters from the Number 9 film by tim burton

Designs for a web games characters






