Monday, October 29, 2018

LAUAN601 - The week of panic.

I began this week by re-thinking my whole project.

Which obviously meant I had a major panic.

My list of questions :

How important is relatability & empathy in character design?

Character design in contemporary animated reboots - the importance of relevance.

How does character design affect a story, and does a change of design alter the plot?

Does character design dramatically affect a plot, and how integral is a design to a story?

Character design : the importance of reflecting personality in design.

I've also re-thought my practical side.

Practical ideas :

Taking descriptions from books and making designs.

Taking old cartoon show character and rebooting them to match modern times.

Creating character designs and using personality traits to create the design. Like bubbly, pessimistic, negative, upbeat etc.

Making a small minute animation? Showing how we can have empathy for anything - a box for example. Or A LEAF.

I've done a small story bored for the animation idea.

Obviously I would make a cleaner version if I do decide to take this further.

Will discuss later.

I also did some research into empathy and the difference between re-booting and re-vamping.

A video about re-booting/revamping-

https://youtu.be/cUw91NxONi0

‘A remake is taking an older movie and redoing it.’ - same story, same plot.

‘A reboot [...] is taking the basic premise but redoing everything else’ -Spiderman or the hulk for example.

Empathy - Why it matter, and how to get it

‘Empathy is the art of stepping imaginatively into the shoes of another person, understanding their feelings and perspectives, and using that understanding to guide your actions.’ Baron-Cohen (2011,II) and Gordon (2005,30) in Empathy why it matters, and how to get it (2014).

Look through other people’s eyes can be personally challenging - and sometimes deeply exhilarating - but it also has extraordinary potential as a force of social change.’

(Krznaric.R, 2014, p.xiii)

‘Can’t empathy be used to manipulate people?’

(Krznaric.R, 2014, p.xxviii)

Thursday, October 25, 2018

LAUAN601 - Progress.

This week I worked on my practical side. I found a webpage filled with descriptions of characters.
http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/lesson_images/lesson1125/sample.pdf
Some I had not seen for example this design for 'Racheal' from The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver.

I have also changed my question again.

Character design in contemporary animated reboots - the importance of relevance.

This character design was for Robinson Crusoe. I thought cat as he was rather posh but also adventurous.

This is another example of me anthropomorphising a character.

Character design in contemporary animated reboots - the importance of relevance.

I also made a moodboards of shows that have been remade/redesigned recently as I could consider how they have been changed for when I do my designs.

After a conversation with Dotty, she suggested that a narrow down how I planed to do my practical, into more of rebooting old shows that have been yet to be rebooted.

Some shows that havent rebooted :

Rescue rangers
Animaniacs
Freakazoid
Tiny Toons
American Dragon - Is still relatively new though.
As told by ginger
The wild thornberrys
superted
Batfink

The list goes on.

I also made a gantt chart.

Monday, October 15, 2018

LAUAN601 - Research.

Context & Themes

10 things, Quotes, Images, facts you know, statements you want to make.

‘What the audience sees on screen is a manifestation of what's inside your imagination.’ (chapter 6, page 77. Make toons that sell)

‘The animator wants to control the eye to help tell the story [...] character design should reflect this control of the audiences vision.’

(chapter 6, page 89. Make toons that sell)

https://youtu.be/xt2PcwKHbxc - This video may be about a written character, but I feel I’m going to need to understand this aspect of the writer's point of view, and how they intended their character to be seen.

‘Plot comes from character’ John Truby

https://youtu.be/-LeKeyvbFuw?list=PLY6PCL9ylnRSaO608L0ocvzxusr_35XfC -

A series of videos on characters and story telling.

‘We easily empathise with character that are like us. And even more easily with character that we wish we were like.’

‘What we want to achieve isn't realism, its believability.’ (page 34, the animator’s survival kit)

‘The appearance serves a character’s personality but also the story they are in, their role should be visible.’

- Marika Nieminen PSYCHOLOGY IN CHARACTER DESIGN Creation of a Character Design Tool. (Page 36). https://www.theseus.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/126784/MarikaNieminen_Thesis.pdf?sequence=1

Case Studies of Practice

An interview with Luke Pearson, the creator of the graphic novel, and now animated adaptation on netflix.

-http://www.skwigly.co.uk/luke-pearson-hilda/

When asked about if any of ‘Hilda’ the protagonist of the story’s experiences where based on his real life, his response was that not alot of the story has any connection to him, but there are small details that are.

‘ And obviously her emotions and the way she reacts to things are closely connected to myself, past and present.’

Ratatouille - We empathise with Remy. Unlikely, as he is merely a rat, but he is a rat that wants to be something he can not. To be a chef. We want him to succeed as many of use can people see ourselves in this small rodent, striving for something we may feel is unachievable.

Harry potter's character basically is the plot of the film. Harry's scar play an enormous part in the story, it defines his tragic backstory. Even his eyes get commented on by almost every character that met his mother; with their uncanny similarities.

A quote from ‘Diversity in Disney Films: Critical Essays on Race, Ethnicity, Gender, Sexuality and Disability

‘Growing up I searched for characters who mirrored the people in my community.’

Which is true, you look for something that mirrors our society, as we progress, so does our diversity in animation.

Sunday, October 14, 2018

LAUAN601 - Storytelling through character design, a proposal.

Storytelling Through Character Design.

For this body of research I intended to investigate into how character design affects storytelling, and how a slight alteration to a character could change or not change a story. I have chosen this as my topic as character design is something that I am very passionate about, and relish the opportunity to investigate deeper into the craft. I am hoping to learn more about the history of character design, and more into how a good character design can affect a story, for example how rebooting a design could change the plot of a pre-existing show. An effective design is integral for a compelling story, as a rule a character with a unique design is often much more popular among an audience, Harry Potter’s design for example, it is simple yet incredibly effective, even becoming an iconic look among young people today, with designs of his image being distributed in stores across the country.

Regarding case studies, there are a number of television shows that have been rebooted, for example : Teenage mutant ninja turtles, Teen Titans and ducktales to name a few. I could get in contact with some of the character designers that worked on these shows, or shows similar, and get a deeper understanding into what it is like to remake a pre-existing characters. I have also done some research into how culture, gender, and race could change how we perceive a character, as I have began reading ‘Diversity in Disney Films: Critical Essays on Race, Ethnicity, Gender, Sexuality and Disability’. A book of essays regarding each of the topics seen above. Although I intend to continue finding new research and finding new case studies, such as artists etc, as I continue to look into my subject.

For my practical investigation, I plan to create a series of character designs from pre-existing character descriptions. Taking a description from a piece of literature for example, and then creating a design using that description. I would even take a few of the designs a few steps further by creating turnarounds and walk cycles, to give a more finished well rounded look into the designs and the changes I may have made. To eliminate any unconscious bias I will gather a series of character descriptions that I have not seen designs for, create my own character sheets for them, based on their descriptions. Then compare them both, to see the amount of interpretation one can have when designing from description.

Ultimately this cop project would explore character design and its fundamentals, what makes a good character design, how can it affect an audience? How is a good design key to a plot/story? Storytelling is given a crutch when it comes to having a good design, and I intended to investigate into that.

Reference’s :

Cheu, J. (2013). Diversity in Disney films. Jefferson, North Carolina, [etc.]: McFarland.

Crossley, K. (n.d.). Character design from the ground up.

Maltin, L. and Beck, J. (1987). Of mice and magic. New York [etc.]: New American Library.

PLYMPTON, B. (2017). MAKE TOONS THAT SELL WITHOUT SELLING OUT. [S.l.]: CRC PRESS.

Saturday, October 13, 2018

LAUAN601 - Presentaion

Here are some of the slides from my 5-10 minute presentation.

LAUAN601 - Initial proposal.

Initial Proposal.

For my research project for COP3 I intend to study historically mythical characters. I’ve chosen this topic, as prior to this I have done research into historical fact and fiction, and into fan theory. I feel that this is a good intertwining topic with both my prior topics of choice.

I plan to do research in the form of watching documentaries, visiting the library and doing research on historically mythical figures. I have already watched several documentaries regarding this topic and am already a little knowledgeable on the subject.

I feel my ending output could be that of creating designs for these characters in a way I envision. I may create a model of one, but my initial idea was to create illustrated character designs. I have always had an interest in history, and a greater interest into myth and legend, therefore combining both is something that really fascinates me. Books

The Mythical Creatures Bible: The Definitive Guide to Legendary Beings

An Introduction to Greek Mythology by David Bellingham

Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes, 75th Anniversary Illustrated Edition

The Mabinogion