PPP2: Personal SWOT Analysis

Since college, I've noticed that I've become much more self-critical as well as open to other people's criticism towards my work, my style, or my techniques, hence I judge it all to be constructive with varying intensity. This SWOT Analysis session is the first one of the kind for me as I overheard a plethora of my peers having done at least one before. Although it was quite alien for me, I found this form quite insightful as I got to gather and structure my overarching and scattered thoughts on my SWOTs, as well as getting the same from one of my close peers - Jay. I figured since we had been working on Character & Narrative together he would have the most precise approximation of my SWOTs than anyone else, thus, would give a thorough account of what he believes my SWOTs are - all being constructive. As I did the first form, and Jay the second, I noticed that there were some discrepancies which emphasized my mild self-righteousness of ego along with some different viewpoints on considerations. As an example for the latter, Jay listed my musical capabilities as technical opportunities, whereas I pointed out small animation courses in Macedonia that I have considered undergoing once I finish college, showing that I had a fix idea on animation while doing the form instead of a broad overall consideration of every creative factor. Another example would be Jay interpreting my weak currency as a personal opportunity (which is, although economically so) whereas I pointed out the animation course that would land me a degree. This small ordeal made me comprehend the vastness of the SWOT Analysis which encompasses a plethora of factors, central or peripheral, that might influence my personal development in even the most miniscule to colossal ways. Casting this aside, the main accent of this form was Jay's comment that I am difficult to compromise with, whereas I noted the EXACT opposite. I believe that this shows not my overconfident demeanor but my mild narcissistic behavior that does not obfuscate my ability to collaborate but hinders it. Another comment was about my aversion towards 3D, which does pertain a limit in itself that I must eradicate with these upcoming years since I believe firmly that it is the best time to do so due to the constructive mindset instigated by constant college tasks. Nevertheless, I am looking forward to an SWOT in years time again so that I may compare my progression as I now am adapting to different tactics not only in animation, but in all of my strengths, with the gradient of diminishing my weaknesses.

PPP2 Presentation - Ideas, Generation, and How To Protect Them

With another presentation inbound, I furthered my reflective manner of professionalization, where this one tethered to the protection of intellectual property - ideas. The lecture enveloped the many factors surrounding idea generation along with a bit of history to strengthen the argument. With people using different types of stimulants throughout the ages to aid them with idea generation, discussion, and collaboration, it has been established that ideas function like a network in a rudimentary sense. Having this in mind, it is quite safe to say that through exchange of concepts, the best ideas in history have been concocted. With the concept of fordism hindering on the notion of specialization, a great example was given at the presentation: the complexity of a computer mouse. It consists of a plethora of different parts made from different materials originating from different regions, and for its generation amongst thousands of people have collaborated serving as a synthesis of different ideas. It was at this point that the lecture became quite relevant since it covered the basis of Copyright, refreshing the knowledge we already have about it from last year's PPP sessions. Paper is what can protect one's ideas since it dissolves their intangibility, validation is what can maintain them from becoming stolen, scrutinized, or plagiarized, as the creative industries do have murky departments in terms of sharing work. I believe that no work with a commercial purpose should be adhered to the concept of trust - evidence must be had. This lecture reminded me of the hardships one may go through without asserting copyright for many people search through the loopholes of this not-so-fortified system, and one must do what's best to protect their work. What I believe that they failed to mention - something quite quintessential to alternatives - is Creative Commons which has more flexible parameters that govern the distribution or recreation of one's work, giving people more choices for consideration.

PPP2: Creative Presence - Considerations

As a new brief came to being out of the blue, I was amazed at the level of interactivity with the industry this module has assumed. Much like The Thinker, I immediately began ruminating upon a range of creative practitioners that I would be more than elated to interview and get insight for the development and professionalization of my practice. By making a small mindmap where I jotted down every single animator or otherwise I am interested in, I was able to piece together my thoughts and deny any ideas flying away. I wrote down Jan Svankmajer, but was later told that he is a very laconic man that gives blunt answers to questions, plus he does NOT speak English - something I did not know. It is quite graceful that we have tutors that assist us in this journey henceforth without them, I would have contacted Svankmajer on my own and to some extent made a fool of myself. Moving on, since this was assigned before Manchester Animation Festival, there were a couple of practitioners at the panels that I could interview, but none too profoundly relevant to my future visualization of my practice. I figured, since I have to leave the UK once I graduate from my course, I should establish initial connections here but solidify them in Macedonia. Thus, I found a 2D animation studio based in Skopje (my capital city) called Lynx Animation Studio, and discovered that one of my favorite childhood illustrators The Micho (Тхе Мичо) is networked with them. So, logically, I settled down on contacting him since I believe he'll give me the most substantial advice and insight about the Macedonian animation industry, plus I do not doubt that he will decline an interview from a Macedonian animation student. I will begin developing my approach soon, when the time comes for me to approach The Micho in a formal, yet colloquial manner, to siphon the fullest of his friendliness and openness to information dissemination.

PPP2: Manchester Animation Festival Highlights of Study

As Manchester Animation Festival marked its 2nd year of existence, I managed to enhance bits and pieces of my knowledge through the versatile and vivacious panels that featured animations, talks, masterclasses, and films. Every animation that I watched had relevance in context of technique, but also of idea, as I pensively analyzed every animation I liked in order to self-didactically discover the technique and generate an idea. Luckily, I came back from the festival full of inspiration but also confidence hence I differentiated between the student and commissioned animations and compared them to my current skill. Nevertheless, since I am much more immersed in the world of animation, every panel provided a segment of knowledge relevant to my practice - something that I had not known before.

Masterclass: Phantom Boy (Folimage)
During this masterclass the narrative importance of sound was highlighted. In other words, it emphasized the workload of narrative sound can minimize if done effectively, hence it can tell what needs not to be animated in order to drive the diegesis. Furthermore, I got an insight in the dynamic of the sound and how it can insinuate the location of actions within the animation, how close they are happening to the POV, and how big of a driving force they are.

Masterclass: Studio AKA
Although I wasn't interested at first, this masterclass gave a thorough perspective on commercial animation conducted by professional studios that specialize in crafting short animations that fit advertisement briefs. I believe that being able to tactically work within given parameters is an effective skill for an animator since it improves the chances of working flexibly within studios. I was amazed at the polished and smooth embrace of both 2D and 3D animation by this studio, as well as the colloquial straightforwardness of the speaker

Fellowship Award: Aardman
Most important idea I pulled out of this was: "have a crack at something, see where it goes". Other than that, I was profusely inspired by the old stop-motion animations that Aardman have done, specifically the ones that intertwined pixilation - I love that aesthetic because it is more reminiscent of the art of film than any other technique, along with the olden "noise" of quality and the effect it brings.

PPP2: Interpreting and Responding to Commercial Briefs

"Simon the Cat" - example of successful crowdfunding

With professionalism being the main key revolving point of PPP, this lecture set us on the right path in terms of identifying our opportunities and advising us to make the most of them. Furthermore, it gave insight on how to avoid drastic and fatal mistakes within the "toxic system" of the creative practice through organized points and examples. I believe that this lecture had been one of the few where the emphasis was placed on us as individuals and the value of our work (indirectly, focusing on how WE need to value our own skills). Moreover, it stressed out the three situations where a practitioner might work for free - a practice that in itself demeans the value of the individual set of skills an animator, illustrator, or graphic designer has that differentiate him/her from the rest. With charity being a noble cause, one must research the circumstances - is the organization or someone from the organization getting paid? Exposure is promising, however, it is a passive notion that comes on its own, especially to us now as we are in college and have opportunities to get our names out. Finally, the biggest slippery slope of them all: the promise of future work if the work now is done for free. Considering there is no legal binding contract, who's to say that the "work promiser" is not to find someone else and use the same ploy on him/her? With the perfect example that John gave where he jumped into deciding his price for a job without estimating the job cost or doing background research to find out the set standard (or to base it on a personal guideline for a monthly division of income), he got underpaid. This example kind of frightened me and gave me chills because one thing I am afraid of is undercompensation - I have the right to receive the optimum for my work, lest I overwork myself for nothing. The main point being: estimate vs. quotation of price - always go for an estimate and never jump to any conclusions without conducting research priorhand. Everything comes back to research in the end, for being knowledgeable means being in control!

PPP2: The Creative Industries

All these PPP presentations evoke a notion of pensiveness in me every single time, making me more and more inquisitive about my whole practice as well as the industry that surrounds it. This latest talk began with a direct connection to the previous one where the evolutionary phenomenon of creativity was elaborated upon: creativity has been prevalent from the chronicles of man up until this day, only changing in the accessible technologies that have shaped historic and modern cultures. For example, in archaic eras cave paintings and Da Vinci's schematics for war machines signified the creativity of man through paragons, whereas now the same practice can be evidenced in graffiti and blueprint designs of products and war machines, as well. Nevertheless, the most important questions asked in this presentations were, as follows: what is meant by industries? where do I fit in? how do I develop networks? All these questions were asked during last week's presentation as well, however, regurgitating them evoked in me a more concrete, thorough answer - I fit in wherever I can and want, I develop networks for collaborative and interdisciplinary work that fuels my professionality as well as my interest. I believe that the second part of this presentation was much more effective since it introduced a bit of history around the formation of the school of arts, around which an ongoing debate circles about the principles the schools of art adapt in relation to the industry. The presentaton was informative in so that it provided the evolution of the school of art and how it became aligned with the capitalist methodologies of the 21st century from the Atelier System in the 19th century that emphasized the adaptable technique that students assumed. However, I too believe that there should be a symbiosis between the studies and post-bachelor professional practices in such a way that both style and technique are embraced in order to drive students towards focusing on using their specialities for attaining a job. As a closer, we were told to assume cunning and witty strategies in order to pitch and/or make connections, hence the entirety of being a practitioner does not reside behind one's practical skill, but also behind one's social skill to form networks.

PPP2: The Wisdom of Mike Mignola

As I youngster I was infatuated by the immersive realms that comics brought forth to my creative mind as I had a tendency to avoid reality and enshrine myself in fantasy. This phenomenon that I experienced as a kid vested in me the now eternal interest in animation and narratives as I maintained that childlike sense of awe and wonder. Having said this, yesterday Mike Mignola, the eclectic creator of Hellboy along with a myriad of other inked spectacles held a talk at Leeds College of Art - a talk that I found quite invigorating and helpful to my personal practice and development of thereof. He gave insight into his personal growth and experience as an illustrator, pointing out that he had been bad at comics when he had initially started, providing him with the motivation necessary to engage in practice. Furthermore, with his openness to the arts, he went on to try to taste all different ranges of art, not only comics - something that has been time and time again emphasized during our PPP lectures. In other words, just because I study animation does not mean I have to specialize and pursue solely animation - I am a creative practitioner that has the capability of experimenting with interdisciplinary endeavors as art is a whole. Carrying on, one of the most important insights he gave was about the loss of confidence he experienced for 6 years where he got off comics. I say most important because it explored the problem of individual indecisiveness - something that impacts a consecutive and rhytmic practical habit that every practitioner should have - draw every day! Moreover, he showed that personal interest is the absolute best driving force towards developing a solid career: he had made a comic solely for money once, and that turned out not to sell properly. The most important part of this talk was the Q&A session which encompassed around 70% of the whole event - something I was really happy about since he got to answer fellow students' questions as well as one of my own. One thing I really adored about Mike Mignola was his colloquial and straightforward approach to every question where he answered from the heart and did not assume a pretentious proffessionality, but instead came across as a rigorous and honest artist (where he even stated that his design for Mr. Freeze was practically a rendition of an older drawing someone had made for the DC Universe). My question to him in a simplified demeanor was: how do you generate ideas? He stated that he did not pull out ideas from his dreams (as I do) but instead did so from observation of everything around him - bits and pieces. Nevertheless, the most important factor for him was his interest in folklore, demonology, and cultural theology as he is in possession of a library full of books on ancient cultures, from which he not only derives ideas but acquires names for character as he disdains fabricating names (Hellboy being one of the only two he has ever conjured up). Finally, he concluded with his scripting tactic which revolves around him creating the beginning and the end, and then working everything in between. All in all, this was one of the most lovely talks I've been to and it helped me understand the conventions of an individual's practice that reflects my own profusely.

A print that reflects Mignola's style - profuse contouring with ink

PPP2: Interdisciplinary Simulation

One of the more visceral slides from the speech

Although yesterday's session seemed quite unnecessary and bothersome at first, it proved to be quite an experience that enveloped the manner in which interdisciplinary creative practitioners work together towards a synthesized goal. In other words, the session gave me a taste of how the industry functions as well as introducing the solidarity within the atmosphere of professional, interdisciplinary studios. Structured in a well progressing way, first we wrote down (in quite a self-evaluative manner, I might add) our creative skills and experiences, as well as our interests in hopes of encompassing and solidifying what we felt comfortable in knowing. Then, we paired up and brainstormed ideas with our assigned partner on a pitch for a product and then proceeded to compete with the rest on which product and pitch would be the most efficient one to candidate against 3 others (comprised of the best idea on the table and all the creative practitioners on it). By forming a presentation about our product, we competed for the best idea that was going to go against 2 other groups of illustrators, graphic designers, and fellow animators alike in a commercial pitch. This was where the simulation of the industry's busy working day within a studio began, where we pragmatically divided ourselves into sections of craft, me doing the After Effects layout and vignette, another group doing the voices of the commercial, yet another animating annotations, and yet another creating logos and images. However, it was all brought down by a leader from the group that won the main pitch, which was something I found extremely effective and NOT patronizing or demeaning in any way. Quite on the contrary, this gave me effective insight on the necessity of a leader (not a boss, mind you) within a project, one that pertains the idea and disseminates it to the rest of the creatives in a intertwining spectacle of mixing individual skills and strong points for one unanimous resolution. With the division of the huge group, we were able to coherently produce a 30 second commercial for Dog Latex (the outcome being hilarious and lampooning, but the practice effervescent and articulate), which won at the end of the day when all 3 groups presented their products through different manners of pitching. I was amazed to see a full studio with busy heads, all working on separate minor tasks that formed the main effigy of our practice - some getting footage of dogs, others animating dogs, where I composited it all together as the final piece. Just as one of the tutors pointed this out during the concluding talk, at time of rush "you find out skills you didn't know you had", as did I with After Effects through trial and error - I even started sweating. Just as this exercise finished, Simon Harrison addressed the issues surrounding the disparity between design education and the "real world" where he confronted issues DNAD have been facilitating. Furthermore, although the award briefs are predominantly vague to enforce creative liberalism where students can best apply their skills to the brief that best suits their style and technique, judges still look primarily for eye-catching solutions that are based on separate biases. Although Simon presented a controversial perspective on this, I took his word and I agree with what he had to say, thus, am going to utilize the maximum feedback I can get from such organizations like DNAD.

PPP2: Character & Narrative Presentations - Synthesis Between Modules

During these past 2 weeks, we had presentations that informed us about the intertwining elements of film connected with animation. Two presentations in total, one about character and short story design, and the other about acting and reference - both containing and annotating important conventions that add finesse, professionalism, and effect in relation to the audience. In other words, the presentations tackled the multitude of notions that an animator is to consider when creating a full-fledged, visceral animation that has the power to relay any message across. During the first presentations the concept of narration was elaborated upon and it structured it all in a list of animation fragments - what can animation be: computer games, film, television. In order to coherently demonstrate the versatility of animation in relation to narrative, we looked at both machinima - machine cinema (Skyrim role-playing within role-playing) and 2D animation (Cordel Barker's "Runaway"). During the second presentation an emphasis was placed on acting and the use of reference, which is essential to development of practice and the capturing of the human essence within animation. Animation is the most free-form art in film where one must take advantage of it's visually descriptive power in relation to the reality that surrounds us - animation forges a vivacious world that broadens our perspective about the actual world before us. Having said that, I need not hesitate to mention the live-action references Disney have used throughout their existence where acting has solidified their character design and behaviour to the limit, which made me think about my own references. After both presentations were done, I started exploring different animations and films for references. Initially, I started using referential images for grasping perspective of scenes for my Character & Narrative animations, such as an overhead shot of the sea and a boat passing through it. However, I believed that watching actors perform would be a lot better for constructing references. Turning over to Jim Carrey, I watched his movies "Liar Liar" and "Ace Ventura" (again, I've seen them before) and started analyzing his acting and behaviour since it's really reminiscent of exaggerated animated character's movements. For example, the faces he makes are excellent reference for facial expressions in characters with taking the main elements from his face and hyperbolizing them (sort of like a caricature). I also tried drawing faces and expressions based on the Jim Carrey faces picture attached above. When it comes to narrative, I believe there can be two points within the spectrum of straightforward narratives and ambiguous narratives, the former being clearly evident actions that produce a story (for example, Charlie Chaplin's films, or ...) and the latter being symbolically phantasmagoric narratives that are quite amenable to interpretations or difficult to understand due to the subtle themes included (one such would be Jan Svankmajer's "Dimensions of Dialogue"). However, the different styles and techniques differentiate massively from creator to creator in order to assert a tone, atmosphere, and aesthetic to the main dispersion of the story, with a soul purpose for it to be both attention grasping and meaningful to the audience.

Attempt at using Jim Carrey's faces as reference.

PPP2 - Who Am I Now?

Identify 5 things you have learned so far on the programme:
- Thorough understanding and learning of animation software such as Photoshop, After Effects, Illustrator, Premiere: with the overarching inductions as well as my continued use of these programs (learning through trial-and-error), I have developed a flexible use of these programs
- Effective time-management: assorting a day to day rhythmic routine of how much work needs to be done in order to get around deadlines with ease and no stress.
- Use of animation conventions of pre-production and their necessity: priorhand I had been utilizing a "straight ahead" technique that posed a lot of problems and complications without thorough planning and organization of animatics, storyboards, considerations, etc.
- Organization in working and research: how to critically assess what needs to be done and how through speculation and research. Furthermore, with research becoming a part of my practice, I have learned how to eliminate mistakes before they even appear.
- 2D Animation drawing skills: I have colossally improved my drawing skills through the adaptation of digital drawing as well as traditional drawing, where I have learned how to create more dynamic characters through the use of primitive shapes as foundations.

Identify 5 things that you want to know more about:
- The creative industry: how the animation industry functions with all its fragments of specialized teams that work on a set of specific tasks.
- Stop-motion armatures: how stop-motion armatures are made, how the sets are composited, the materials used in said process of production.
- Audit animation and networking: I want to know more about the initial and intermediate steps in forming networks and establishing teams of animation based on audit animation.
- 2D rigging: how to rig more complex characters and improve the movement of said characters - to create appealing 2D rigging movements.
- Cinematography: the art of storytelling through camera angles and exposure shots - how characters are laid out on the scene and how they fit within a scene (a hidden but descriptive form of narrative).

Identify 5 skills that you think are your strengths:
- Eclectic resourcefulness: capable of tackling problems through trial-and-error based on the understanding of software interfaces as well as the intertwining of spontaneous ideas through attempts of speculation.
- Stop-motion conventions: the understanding and comprehension of proper lighting techniques, set making, camera angles - eliminating light flicker and frequent problems of stop-motion through years of practice
- Openness to collaboration: amenable to synthesizing ideas with other practitioners and reaching compromises for the sake of the animation.
- Comprehension of 2D animation software and techniques: I fully triangulate between the many softwares that are used in animation and can easily solve a problem with hindsight and trial-and-error as well as animating through different manners.
- Creation of soundscapes: designing soundtracks and compositing (and creating) sound effects based on an animation - helping the animation reach its optimal expression through auditory cues of narration.

Identify 5 things that you want to improve:
- 3D Animation: the creation of CGI sets as well as the rigging of simple characters (mostly interested in low poly), although I am not that into 3D, it is an effective skill.
- 2D Animation: improve drawing skills even further in order to effectively capture a character's pose and perspective through solid drawing
- Creation of armatures: since most of my stop-motion has revolved around Legos and clay figures, I'd like to improve in creating armatures and more complex stop-motion puppets by using household items and tools.
- Motion graphics in AE: to fully understand all the effects prepacked with After Effects in order to fully utilize their power in creating visuals as well as flexible and appealing animation.
- Patience: I need to improve my patience when learning some animation technique through step-by-step, as well as acquiring an even more overarching motivation cue whilst animating.

Identify 5 practitioners that demonstrate your interest in animation:
- Jan Svankmajer: surrealism in stop-motion with a heavy emphasis on symbolism - the creation of frivolous models and characters from everyday household items.
- Terry Gilliam: the flimsiness and whimsicality of cut-out animation, reminiscent of Dada art - an epoch which ties to my aesthetic.
- Gil Alkabetz: the art of subtle narrative - the actions of characters and how they define the circumstances of the "invisible" environment through visual suggestibility.
- David Firth: eeriness and ambiguity in animation through visual cues - introducing a sense of bleakness in context through the use of desaturated colors.
- Don Hertzfeldt: simplicity in the portrayal of gore - using simple lines and flow in movement as well as carbon textures (watercolor).

Identify 5 websites/online resources that demonstrate your areas of interest within the creative industries:- http://www.lynxanimation.com/ - a Macedonian animation studio that I am heavily considering working for once I graduate
- http://animationresources.org/ - an over-encompassing and brilliant site that provides resources about animation from all perspectives, be it paintings, poses, illustration, reference to live action, etc.
- www.aardman.com - the stop-motion domain that provides me with a visual research on the smoothness possibility of stop-motion animation
- http://www.skwigly.co.uk/ - an online animation magazine that gives me insight on techniques of animation and inspiration based on the films I watch there
- http://everyframeapainting.tumblr.com/ - demonstrating the effective use of cinematography and angles within film that assist me in the composition and effect that different shots have

PPP2 - Engaging With Visualizations

Still from visualization - before the culminating point

Recently, I've been interested in creating visuals for bands to be displayed whilst performances are conducted much more than I have been in the past. Although I have made such a visual on one instance for a friend's ambient project, I wish to venture further into the realm of abstract and atmospheric visuals that grasp and envelop a band's/performer's music genre and tone. I got inspired during Leeds Light Night where I saw auditory sensitive visuals (made by Level 6 student Oscar Barany) controlled through Resolume (an interactive visual effects program) and an APC Mini (hardware device that controls music connected visuals) and will be aiming towards understanding this form of art and actively practicing it once I get the opportunity to buy the necessary equipment. However, with my initial one (one I made last year) being quite noisy and ambiguous, I aimed for this one to be much more organized and annotated to the peak amplitude of the music. Progressively, I contacted the Macedonian recently-formed band "Spectrum" (whose members I personally know) and offered to synthesize a visual for their newest teaser song, to which they agreed. Although I did not ask for monetary remuneration for this, I will for when I make a music video once they release their debut album, which is something I already discussed with them. Since they were not specific about the details of the visuals, I attempted at trying to express their tone more prominently through the visuals, for which I used an asset initially made for my Character & Narrative animation which had a dark and ambiguous demeanor. Thus, once I imported that in Premiere, along with the image they supplied me with (their current cover), I started experimenting with the myriad of effects on Premiere and thus annotated the initial flow based on the rising points of the song (where I chipped off separate frames and tinkered with their position and exposure to give it a "glitch" effect). As for the background, I reverse looped the stop-motion and changed the tint during the reversed sequence to complement the dichotomy presented by the name of the song (context, nevertheless). All in all, both I and the band consider the visuals to be highly satisfying as this paves the positive way for the further development of this technique. Moreover, I am considering spreading the word around in Macedonia (as well as here) advocating my creation of music videos and visuals.

"Spectrum - Empathy" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3StQO6RaHA

PPP2 Presentation - Who are you? Why are you here?

Interconnecting with Responsive's role of developing a standard practice and making connections with the creative industry, today's PPP presentation brought forth some quite metaphysical, but very engagingly pensive questions. The main gist of the presentations was revolving around subjectivity and the stirring of our inquisitive minds. With questions such as "what do I want to achieve?" following up the introductory title, I found myself questioning the very basis of my practice - why am I doing it. Attempting to grasp this notion within and after the presentation, I started answering the main question posed during the lecture in my mind and notebook. I believe that answering these questions structures my path more effectively and induces motivation and confidence within my practice.

Who am I? - I am a animator in training that is aiming to achieve engagement with the industries in order to professionalize my creative practice.

Why are you here? - I am here to understand how the creative industry functions, to develop my animation practice through experimentation and proliferation of work, and to synthesize it with the theory and context of the art form.

Going forward into a simulating practice, the emphasis for developing our personal professional practice was placed on collaborations within this year, where we are expected to micromanage creative networks through the opportunities given to us (MAF, Lectures and Talks, Contests, and Collaborative Briefs). Rejoice, it is the ideal time for synergy and establishing contacts, and so will be done through dedication, a functional practice schematic, and confidence!

Expecting to establish direct contacts and networks, as well as analyze techniques of animations (and its conventions) here.

PPP2: Research into Form - Gil Alkabetz

Scrolling through a book I checked out called "Animation 2D and Beyond" by Jayne Pilling, I stumbled upon Gil Alkabetz's work and focus on the general form of animation. Alkabetz claims that "if you have a particular style, you create a particular world whose rules you know, so you can play with breaking them". However, he also proclaims that "by not being committed to any one style, you somehow have to reinvent the wheel every time", which subscribes to the notion of the style fitting the narrative, and not the other way around. I've always been interested in narrative oriented animation hence I believe that as an animator one must experiment and explore the different and plentiful conventions of the art form and not just stick to one's comfortable style - nothing is learned in that manner. Thus, I shall start utilizing this schematic of animation where the story is created first (be it absurd and defiant to reality or not) by using a phantasmagoric idea, developing the plot, and then choosing the form of animation which will carry the flow of the story through naturally (in order to perpetuate experimentation). Considering this, I was flabbergasted by his film "Swamp" hence it explored the many narrative levels of animation instigated by color, movement, and flow. The film portrays the absurdity of war, however, it does so in a really abstract and minimalist manner, relying on the suggestibility relayed by action and not by visuals. In other words, the film creates tension between the characters and the environment and uses that tension to drive the unique story along. The swamp that sinks the soldiers is never shown, yet we comprehend its existence solely because of the story's descriptive progression - it introduces us to the environment by having the characters interact with the invisible surroundings. This form of storytelling is imperative to the full exploitation of animation as an art form since it's breaking through the film frame of reality. Afterwards, I went on watching more of his films, giving me an inspiration to do an animation that uses watercolor as the main medium hence I really love the aesthetic of the texture.

"Swamp" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWQ5led8BA0

PPP2: Research Into 3D Scene Building - "The Animation Book" and Inspiration

Stop-Motion in Courage

CGI in Courage's "Perfect"

Doing peripheral research about techniques of animation is the most crucial step towards developing an understanding of the conventions of a specific practice. In other words, research is key! Having a brief that explores character narratives and choosing to intertwine several techniques of animation into one final piece (practicing multimedia, as it is the most prevalent notion in the animation industry) purges one into doing research that envelops all of the techniques. I recently checked out several books from the library, one being "The Animation Book" by Kit Laybourne which contains a myriad of introductory and intermediate techniques on all fields of animation. I was interested in 3D atmosphere and scene building hence my Character and Narrative animation shall revolve around a blend of a 3D space with 2D animation, as well as for the sake of personal development where I would like to be able to create masterful scenes in 3D to complement the atmosphere that defines my style (macabre, dark, ambiental atmosphere). Furthermore, I would like to thoroughly get into a mutlimedia technique of hybrid animations where I have an understanding of 3 main techniques - 2D, Stop-Motion, 3D (this being the one I know the least due to my previous aversion). Having said this, I need to mention that I also got inspired by my childhood cartoon "Courage the Cowardly Dog" which blends 2D, 3D, and Stop-Motion in a perfect concoction of animation that instills fear and shocking awe into the viewer as well as a substantial sense of mystery revolving the environment Courage is in. In my research of Courage the Cowardly Dog, I noticed that the cartoon impeccably uses juxtaposition of techniques to drastically change an atmosphere and give the viewer a feeling of uncertainty and perplexity when deducing the context of the scene. One such example would be the episode "Perfect" where Courage goes through a string of disconnected dreams that dwell on his insecurity of imperfection, the dreamscapes being crafted in CGI and paper-style animation. Straying away from this, in my research of "The Animation Book" I found that there is a delicate process of 2D texturing in 3D for scenes. Importing a premade 2D texture (usually through photoshop) onto an object through defining the surface attributes to reflect light IMMENSELY induces atmosphere. It's safe to say that light is the key factor in 3D scene design. Going through, there are 3 stages to building a scene - composition, camera setup, and lighting. With digital lighting (3 types being parallel light, radial light, and spotlight) one can induce an atmosphere and emphasis of something on the scene. However, for this to be mastered only comes "with practice and repeated test renderings", as it is stated within the book. I will apply and continue research as my journey goes on to test out these conventions with the hopes of creating test shots and atmospheric backgrounds.

Prime reference from "The Animation Book"

PPP2: Iterations of Future Animation Ideas and Experimentation

With the first PPP brief emphasizing the reflection on a body of investigative research through which an individual may strengthen his or her practice and develop it throughout the venture of this college year, I was swept with inspiration and motivation to fully and wholeheartedly engage as a creative practitioner. Thus, I firmly believe that analysis and research is fueled by a keen sense and tendency to experiment with different techniques and ideas in order to solidify one's practice. On the other side, when it comes to professionality, one must develop networks and an awareness of the surrounding opportunities, be they other collaborative practitioners or communicators which can engage us in our exposure to the crowd. Nevertheless, as the briefing presentation was being carried out, I immediately was washed over with a myriad of ideas for personal exploration of animation techniques which I jotted down and shall proceed on carrying out. One such idea was the research into 2D rigging, which is something I have not properly explored before. Alongside me wanting to use and using this technique for my Character Narrative, I will research the conventionalities of this method to further supply my knowledge of animation especially for my collaborative animation. 3D being another technique I want to analyze and research in terms of background compositioning as I really find the juxtaposition of 2D animation in a 3D space (similar to The Amazing World of Gumball in methodology) aesthetically invigorating due to its visual richness. Finally, I thought about heavy ink on paper being scanned in to create a texture-enriched animation with the aesthetic of the traditional aspect still present, although this would be quite difficult to execute. However, the Character Narrative is the perfect opportunity for me to apply new techniques and engage in research thoroughly - all relevant to the ideas I conjured up during the presentation.

The Introduction to Personal Professional Practice 2

The most practical of all modules has emerged from the depths, and this year's overall structure of the module PPP has swept me away in a creative frenzy of motivation. Initially, Personal Professional Practice is about the professionalization of my practice by evoking research that informs the decisions I make. Furthermore, it was presented that this module is to engage us with the creative industries by instilling an interest in collaboration and personal style development and critically reflecting on how it may fit in the animation industry. With the organized structure of this module, all three briefs succumb to our personal growth as creative practitioners by fueling our openness to experience events and the willingness to be changed by them. I am still finding out and exploring the horizon of my creative practice, as more and more I try to be an eclectic animator that strays away from the narrow-minded path of only applying ONE technique (as I did so at the beginning of my first college year - stop-motion). Quite on the contrary, seeing as how the past year's module shed light on my development as a versatile practitioner, I strongly subscribe to the notion that this year's PPP module will effervescently augment my professionality as well as my openness to concepts, collaborations, and techniques. All quite concisely put - Adapt or Die!

By thoroughly going through the modules at the presentation and the one module presented on eStudio, I feel confident enough and do not fear the outcome of this module for I have shifted my interest towards the core essence of the college's aims: personal development instead of grades. Moreover, I believe that by calmly working through this academic year the grades will righteously reflect my practice at its fullest!

With LCA's "Life After College" program inbound, I believe that I will be able to receive a variety of tips and tricks about the issues of professional development I am mostly insecure of: skills regarding the presentation of my ideas. Luckily, the "Life After College" offers a presentation on this topic which I will be attending and hoping it will instill inspiration for my practice.

Developing Independent Animation: Retreat

Noise becomes aesthetic, and vice versa. Animation skills are really flexible in producing more incoherent pieces of abstract motion just as equally as they are in creating a story to portray a message. In this case, it's more about connoting a tone, an atmosphere, rather than a story. A friend of mine has created an avant-garde ambient project for which he requires an animation to be projected in the background like a visualization that will help carry the atmosphere of the music - to simulate a post-modern ritual, in a way. As I've stated previously, I love the notion of philosophy and analysis behind animation; how even the most abstract does have something beneath its layers. For this project of his, I crafted a looped animation that is based on one of my stop-motion works - "Unexpected" in particular, which is animation that I made for the module Animation Skills. However, I fully tweaked it, experimented with my new-found skills in Premiere, expanded upon them, and by introducing my new taste in what I consider to be visually aesthetic designed an animation that complements the sound of the project. For example, I used Echo in order to give the animation a more ghastly and ethereal appeal to it, as every movement is mimicked. Another example would be the Bend I added that makes the animation seem distorted, alluding to a sense of ambiguity and dizziness, which I believe to go great with the music due to their obscure similarities. All in all, it has to do with post-production rather than with production, which is nonetheless a skill to be progressively developed for animation is NOT solely just about animation. One must have an eye for mise-en-scene, eliminating all possible "holes" in the scenography of the animation for it to seem solid, appealing, and not flat, which is the essence of this animation that I crafted. Generally, I believe that art-forms function in this manner where the raw can be distorted in a multitude of ways, producing an abundance of different outcomes through the raw - this is done in music with sampling and analogue effect pedals, for example. I am now generally interested in the incorporation of different elements within stop motion and seeing how far I can push that, as well as the experimentation of techniques in producing an arbitrary resolution (be it an animation or piece of design) and learning from its mistakes and strengths.

"Retreat - Immersion" - https://vimeo.com/165191484

"retreat" - https://soundcloud.com/retreat_music

Developing Personal Style: Assignments and Pieces of Work

Sheet from Visual Language - practice in depth & perspective

With all the other modules altogether, this academic year has been significant in the development of my initially "incoherent" style of drawing, where I had never placed such a huge emphasis due to my stop-motion orientation. Luckily, my horizons have been broadened and light upon traditional 2D animation has been shed, resolving in my distinct development of a drawing style inspired by my fellow peers, observation, and practice, all purged by all of the modules. And, with time and practice, I created a style that showed depth; a style that I became comfortable with and started implementing and gradually modifying - even as I write. Initially, before college, I had been drawing cartoon characters solely with pencil and never digressed from drawing flat and lifeless 2D faces, mostly 2/3 profiles. For example, if I were to draw something else, it would look highly unaesthetic with a lack of depth (not applicable to Solid Drawing, in other words) as I would draw with brisk pencil lines instead of firm and flowing lines. However, through the module Animation Process and Production, I started using other tools, such as the drawliner, which gave me the opportunity to draw coherent and accurately distinctive lines in thickness. Now, following the manner of some of my peers solely as inspiration, I only used pencil to create the template over which I drew the real deal, mainly the character, background, and element design for the 2D animation. With this, came my broken line style, where all lines I draw are generally shaky without definite curvatures. As I continued developing this, it reached its prime during the Visual Language module where we were to create our own character, which relied on this drawing style. Edrik showed depth and visual enrichment with the shaky lines, whereas if I were to draw him in a smooth manner he'd lose all of that appeal. And, thus, based on all of this, I gandered into doing side projects and assignments, one of which is for a future musical event back in Macedonia, for which I acquired to be the logo and poster designer through a commission. This is where my style of sub-realism kicks in where I reference real life objects and draw them in an emphasized manner, still keeping their key elements while altering their realistic aspect - for the event's logo I drew a gramophone with a conch for a horn, based on a picture I piled together of a conch and a real gramophone for reference. The broken lines that define the contour of the shape assumingly give it a perceived texture of ruggedness, whereas the inner incomplete lines give it that 1940 illustrator print feel. Another project is a possible album cover for a musical project which I am a part of inspired by the graininess of old prints. All in all, I am quite satisfied with this style I've adapted and look forward to its constant improvement with future practice endeavors. Thus, the final project I've been assigned is making logo designs for bands - 2 in particular - one of which is my own. In order to create these, I implemented two styles and fused them together: traditional, with which I draw the assets for the logo, and digital, where I scan those assets and tinker and modify them for the final digital outcome. For example, for the Visterija logo (displayed below) I drew the vines and the tree branch in my sketchbook and then scanned them in to give them the overlay effects, whereas the font is just a normal font manipulated with the liquify tool - solely digital.

Initial drawing, rough lining, textured feel

Digital rendering of poster template

Possible draft of an album cover, digitalized ink drawing

Analyzing Animation Techniques: Little Talks

Multimedia animation is at the heat of the industry currently, and as time is progressing more and more emphasis is being placed on a fusion of different animation techniques as separate elements that perfectly create an aesthetic for a vigorous animation. However, one thing I've noticed is that the most versatile of techniques are used in the making of animated music videos that strike the media, most of which possess a brilliant opportunity for young animators such as myself to learn, analyze, and attempt, for the sake of eclecticism. The animated music video of Of Monsters And Men's "Little Talks" served as a perfect paragon of this notion, as well as a brilliant opportunity of inspiration. Considering that I'm in the middle of working on my animation for the module Applied Animation by blending stop-motion with post-rotoscoping 2D, I found this animation particularly interesting and bewildering as I can identify some techniques I have yet to try, but believe I have the knowledge to attempt. Initially, the animation reminded me of the vivacious Pythonesque technique of puppet animation where segments of images are bound together to be controlled and animated without re-drawing every consecutive frame - a technique I'm really keen on. However, this animation incorporated the technique digitally as to juxtapose it with the live-action heads of the characters which are stuck (through green screening) to the puppets. Furthermore, the animation reminded me of Kiszkiloszki, an animator that incorporates this style through the revival of old baroque art, but makes the movement of his characters much more flexible by adding motion blur. Nonetheless, in "Little Talks" this technique is perfectly blended with realistic green screened effects of sparks, explosions, and smoke that add color to the animation - perfectly juxtaposing the mise-en-scene elements in the shot. The FX go well with the animation since practically most of the elements are modified segments of fabricated live-action scenery (the trees, the gargoyle head, the monster) where they look like they are vested in reality due to their detail, but actually are not (except for the faces). To account for this, I researched that many animators had produced this animation, all of which had animated the separate and different techniques in the final output, once again, proving that different styles plus teamwork account for brilliant interdisciplinary art.

Kiszkiloszki's style as shown in a gif image

Animation and Technique Analysis: Right in Two

"Right in Two" is a song by the progressive rock band Tool which has an accompanying animated music video, something unique of which likes I've never seen before. The most flabbergasting part about the animation is the technique used, or need I say, techniques. In other words, the animation is a perfect assemblage of stop-motion, 2D animation, 3D animation, greenscreening, and live-action film elements - a real fusion of the art of the moving image. Every element of animation is used to define an aspect of the animation's characters, backgrounds, or miscellaneous effects, in a way that it juxtaposes all of them but also blends them to emphasize the power of their differentiation. The main character of the animation is a stop-motion animated puppet, whose eyes are segments of the live-action filmed eyes of a real person, whereas everything that happens upon the little lump of clay that transforms into a cartoonish paragon of our world is 2D with individual frame drawing and bold and repeating contour lines. In order to place an accent on the theme of the animation - the destructive degradation of society - the style in which the animation is drawn has a sense of chaos within it due to the line inconsistency of every drawn frame, as well as the shading (which is done with non-technical parallel lines). Constantly switching dynamics, the way the characters are drawn allows them to easily be transformed and distorted with every consequent frame without the movement seeming choppy, unnatural, and sudden (something similar to the style in which Pink Floyd's "The Wall" is animated). However, in my own opinion, I believe that the background is the primary element that adds all the techniques together in a perfect blend due to its slow but smooth tempo (the greenscreened animated clouds). So, we are presented with a fast-paced 2D animation, a mid-paced stop-motion figure, and a slow-paced background, all distinguishing the foreground, midground, and background ever so effectively that it makes the whole film aesthetic eye candy along with the pale colors that help us focus on detail (because our eyes are more sensitive to strong colors, making it difficult to "zoom in" on detail). Tool's well known for having animated music videos in different styles, which makes their video material a real analytical journey - even more so with their visceral yet harmonious tone.

Tool - "Right in Two" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fj-10lIrboM

Understanding of Green Screening: Model Turn-Around

Finished turn-around

The final activity our Visual Language model's got to experience was today's Dragonframe induction. This one was one of the most interesting inductions I've ever had as we composed stop-motion along with greenscreening, attempting the main technique that is used in feature-length stop-motion films as well as post-productive editing in modern movies. I have never done greenscreening before and have always wanted to learn the conventions of being able to do it, even if it is just on an individual level for personal progression and practice. Seeing as I am slowly getting to understand After Effects, we were taught the power of using mask layers, which perfectly align with my understanding of how keyframes, effects, and filters function in After Effects (compliments to the past inductions). Initially, we went through the conventions of lighting and how it affects the reduction of light flicker and the removal of shadows, something crucial to greenscreening. When it came to Dragonframe, everything that we were taught I already knew, however, solely because I've been "specializing" in stop-motion for years. Making a valiant use of the cinematography window is essential in achieving the desired exposure in the frame, something that all photographers know to be fundamental. The most informative part for me was the process of greenscreening and how the asset Keylight 1.2 has the power to automatically filter uniform colors which stick out at the background. Furthermore, learning how to fully manipulate masking will open a range of possible alterations in digital animation. Just in case I do not forget the process, I took picture notes of the procedure so that I may use this technique in my future animations. With this induction, I feel that I'm one step closer to becoming a multifaceted animator with a semi-professional background, as I have broken yet another barrier of non-understanding. Stop-motion just got a whole lot more flexible.

Techniques of Stop-Motion Analysis: Crooked Rot

Stop-motion's appeal to realism possesses the power to utilize firm visual imagery in order to portray a concept that is interrelated with existence. However, stop-motion also gives the opportunity to use manual effects which can introduce a more hyperbolized level of realism: surrealism. "Crooked Rot" is a stop-motion animation created by David Firth in 2008, and is one of my favorite dark-atmospheric animations. Unsettling and mesmerizing, the animation is an ambiental-surrealist masterpiece in my own opinion due to the intricate use of lighting to hint the atmosphere along with the eerie soundtrack in the background that caters to every action within the animation. What is most interesting about the animation is that it's 100% pure stop-motion with no digital effects, which proves that the authenticity of manually generating graphic effects during production (and not post-production) can outweigh the digital rendering because they seem more natural, ultimately giving the animation a bigger appeal. In this situation, the animation's intention is to be bizarre in a way that it uses psychological conventions to create a horror tone giving the audience an unsettling feel. For example, the scene where one of the severed heads is wearing a mask and screaming incoherently uses the natural human fear of masks (because without facial expressions, our mind cannot differentiate emotion) along with the fear of ambiguous noises which cannot be subconsciously explained. All in all, I was compelled to try to analyze the techniques used in "Crooked Rot", as I too stick to natural effects when animating in stop-motion (for example, cigarette smoke in "LSDuck"). The hovering lights which are made with a slow shutter speed responding to quick circular movements of a synthetic light in contrast with the darkness make for a unnatural luminosity that beguiles the human mind, releasing feelings of awe. During the scene where the pig head protrudes through the wall the rapid and quick animation of his hands (on the computer and at the camera) are presented in a chaotic manner which instigate a series of shock scares because of the difference in every frame. The most important factor in what makes this animation particularly scary is the pre-production - all the props together make the imagery aesthetically frightful, something I personally try to incorporate in my stop-motion animations.

"Crooked Rot" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYjny4qNy24

Animation Analysis: Take This Pill

David Firth, also known for being the creator of the eerie animated series "Salad Fingers" is a profuse animator whose style is similar to mine, or to be more accurate, the other way around. I had forgotten about his work for a while up until a fellow peer pointed out that my last animation (The Other Side) reminded him of Firth's style, something I do not negate although it might be a subconscious inspiration. Among the many animations that he has, I adore his "Take This Pill" where he depicts the big Pharma through a vile visual anecdote, a satire if you will. One of the main reasons why I love this animation is the vernacular language used to point out the miserable cycle of individuals' dependency on pharmaceuticals to treat only the symptoms of a condition whilst promoting extended use (which has been speculated to strike heavy addictions and hormonal imbalances). The animation also portrays the notion that these pills become a part of our identity, where people develop fears of not taking their daily meds (anxiety issues, as well), one example being the scene where pain is personified as a "chap", and then revered by humans which inadvertently assist the pharmaceutical industry. However, another reason why I love this animation is the style in which it is created, as I pointed out prior. David Firth's use of de-saturated colors and grayscale patterns adds to the eerie and freakish feeling one receives when watching his animations, along with his character design for this animation in particular where the characters resemble bugs (body composition and appearance as anthropods). Brushing up on such works by David Firth gave me the incentive to analyze and appropriate his style to mine, pick up a few tips to improve my 2D animation, such as the simplicity of animating mouth movement to sync up with sentences. Truly, an inspiring and eclectic animator, even with stop-motion works, something to analyze later on!

"Take This Pill" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfAul2isPfo

PPP Seminar: Internet Use and Copyright

This week was amongst the most important of all PPP presentations regarding how one can protect his/her own content from being stolen as an intellectual property or how one goes around the possible violations of the same concept. Personally, this is the most useful PPP presentation so far hence `i have never quite fully understood the parameters of copyright and have seen countless European and American cases where such infringements have been punitively assessed, most of which where about music or art. Luckily, in the UK any content produced is automatically copyrighted, which eliminates the necessity to register one's content for fear of plagiarism.

Subjected to Copyright:
An author or individual should not adapt, distribute, publicly transmit or perform, rent, or even lend content without consulting the respective copyright laws to said piece of work/content. As for who owns copyright, from the presentation I understood that it is the author or the company/agency that publishes the piece. Luckily, for educational purposes copyright applies without permission (given that the educational establishment is in compliance with some form of legal document/contract, like one needed for a library). I had been afraid of violating copyright in any shape or form for my next COP animation which shall feature names of brands, a super copyright double-whammy.

Alternatives to Copyright:
I had never heard of any alternatives to copyright prior, and was always thinking that every individual, like it or not (especially in the UK) is subjected to copyright in some way for his/her own personal content.

Copyleft - A form of licensing that gives a right to redistribute, adapt, or reproduce a piece of work. The main concept of Copyleft had been described by Richard Stallman in his "GNU Manifesto", where he had said that "GNU is the public domain". Upon further research of this notion, I found out that Copyleft has several lawfully identified levels of licensing that all differ in the magnitude of the restriction, ranging from Freedom 0 to Freedom 3:

Freedom 0 - Piece of work can be used
Freedom 1 - Piece of work can be studied
Freedom 2 - Piece of work can be shared with others
Freedom 3 - Piece of work can be modified and distribute altered such versions

Creative Commons - a versatile and liberating license of intellectual property and content that provides simplicity and standardization. Founded by Lawrence Lessig as a non-profit organization, Creative Commons is a more established set of licensing which has an official website which assists aspiring creators in licensing their work under their free regulations and allows them to expand their creative works. As does Copyleft, so does Creative Commons carry levels of licensing which give the artist a choice of how he/she wishes to disseminate hers/his work, all written down on their official website (link at bottom of blog entry). As my research continued, I found that artists such as Nine Inch Nails use delineations of Creative Commons so that they may sell their music without having to compete with others selling copies of the same work. Thus, for my personal animations (non-educational) I will be using Creative Commons as it appeals to me the most in both freedom and liability.

Sources:
"What is Copyleft? - GNU Project" - http://www.gnu.org/licenses/copyleft.en.html
"Creative Commons" - https://creativecommons.org