*Choose a sentence, phrase or collection of words related to a movement or set of movements. *Produce a stop-frame animation using the typographic letter forms from this sentence, phrase or collection of words. *Your stop-frame animation must have a minimum duration of 30 seconds, and a minimum frame-rate of 12 fps (frames per second). You are expected to use photography, and may photograph your letter forms in places and spaces that relate to your ideas. You are discouraged from using premade images as backgrounds.
We began our first brief by experimenting with stop-frame animation. On the day we were instructed in pairs to cut out a series of letters and words from a magazine to represent a movement. My words were ‘magnets repelling’. In order to portray this movement we used two boxes representing the north and south, which we placed together and apart to demonstrate two opposites repelling. Therefore symbolizing the energy of magnets using hand made typography. The aim of this exercise was to develop our knowledge of stop-motion and
calculating the number of frames per second I would need in order to form a 30 second animation. After familiarizing myself with Photoshop animation, we were ready to produce our 30-second final outcome by the end of the week. I chose to focus my words and phrases on the movements performed on a trampoline. The words I used were ‘jump’, ‘tucked’, and ‘straight’. I printed out the words and cut them out separately in order to move them whilst taking photographs. I organised the sequence to reflect the movements by performing each manoeuvre. In order to achieve a
steady picture throughout I rented out a tripod and SLR camera. I calculated the amount of pictures I would need to take to fit a 30 second animation, which came to 750. I then divided this number into the amount of manoeuvres I wanted each letter to perform. By preparing myself I found the process easier and more accurate as each scene would appear evenly. This brief allowed me to develop my skills in Photoshop and more specifically in the areas of stop-frame animation. If I had the chance to improve this I would change the font and vary the type size to make it look more effective as a piece of animation.
Raw Material 1) Use photography Output to collect two alphabets, one of Make 3 A5 illusvernacular type, and trations that evoke one abstract typotheof atmosphere of your graphic forms. original image, using only 2)your Find/select high-resolucollecteda typographic tion image of an forms and your exterior/urban extracted colenvironment. (Scan or re-photoour palette. graph the image if it’s not in digital form.) Attitudes to colour: Of these illustrations, one must make use of compleConceptual Process mentary colour, and one must make use of 1)subtractive Define thecolour. atmosphere of your selected image in words. Technical AttitudesProcess to composition: Of these illustrations, one 1)must Trace paths from your alphabets inmake Adobe employ the rule of collected thirds, and one must Illustrator use of the golden ratio. 2) Extract a colour palette from your high-resolution image using Adobe Illustrator.
This brief was also about studying typography but in the context of using vernacular and abstract type. The output eventually was to create 3 illustrations driven by a personal photograph of an urban environment. I chose to use a photo, which I had taken of a club in Zante, as it was covered with neon lights and came across as lively. We were then instructed to define our atmosphere in three words, which would be used towards each illustration. As my image was vivid I decided to use the words ‘vibes’, ‘vibrant’ and ‘neon’ to reflect the original image. With
my selected words I was now able to move onto the conceptual process. Using Adobe Illustrator I imported each vernacular type individually and traced over the letters using the ‘pen’ tool, readjusting the sides as I went along. The vernacular type I took used was of letters, which used symbols or other visual method to replace the letter. I also took abstract pictures of objects around me that looked like a particular letter when seen from an angle. For example: a streetlight represented the letter ‘l’ once rotated. Once I had traced over these letters to make my words, I began to
create my colour palette by extracting the main colours from the original image. The majority of the colours were neon and therefore came through as bold once put on top of contrasting background colours. I studied the image in order to identify the structure of which I would place my type. This particular brief taught me the technical way of tracing around objects or type and how to extract colours from an image. It also made me think more creatively about the structure and how to make ones illustration more interesting by ways such as experimenting with vernacular or abstract typography.
Using outline paths from your own vernacular type collection (week 2), create threedimensional typography in 3DStudio Max. Composite your threedimensional typography with a high-resolution image of a real-world environment (could be the image you chose for assignment 2 (week 2)). Your typography should take the form of a word or a series of words that expresses – or contrasts with – an aspect of your chosen environment. Light your three-dimensional typography so that it matches the light in your backing plate (high-resolution image). Render out a series of three stills OR a five second animation.
The brief was to use our vernacular type collection from the previous assignment and use it to create a new set of words. Although the brief was similar to the previous one, we were now taught to use different software called 3D studio Max. In order to know how to apply 3D into our type, we were given a basic workshop tutorial on the program. We imported a high-resolution real- world image and inserted a 3D teapot to make it appear as if it’s in the image. However this was not as simple as it sounds in order to achieve this look I needed to insert a plane on
the ground of the image. I then also had to position to the teapot on top of the plane and vary the size and angle to fit the image. The colour was then extracted from the image itself and copied onto the teapot. With the addition of a sky light where the image light appeared the teapot was beginning to look as if it belonged there. Once I was familiar with the concept I began to choose an image I had taken of a real-world environment. The 3D I decided to use were a beach, Trafalgar square and a road in Amsterdam during winter. The words I used to describe each image were
Serenity, Culture and Blizzard. I used spot and target lights to enhance the words in its surroundings and adjusted the shadows in between the letters to add a less obvious effect. Once I had completed 3 still images I rendered them out as jpegs to upload onto my blog as final outcomes. This brief taught me how to use the basics of 3D studio max as well as understand how to insert objects or type into an image to make it look real. If I had more time to improve the image I would have ‘serenity’ as half sunk into the sand and I would have also photoshoped ‘blizzard’ to have snow appearing on and around the type.
Use a voice recording and script of some song lyrics to derive ideas for a short digital animation in After Effects. The voice recording will provide you with a structure for the animation, which should use only typographic forms. Your animation must also include sound design, that either reflects the feel of the lyrics, or what is described in the lyrics, or both.
For this brief we needed to record ourselves speaking or singing lyrics from a song of our choice. I chose ‘knock you down’ by Keri Hilson for my lyrics. The next step was to then write up a script and storyboard of 30 seconds worth of a song. As the brief only stated to include some of the lyrics I only picked the main words and represented them through their movements. After creating the storyboard we were ready to learn how to apply it into a moving animating using After Effects. Although the concept was quite simple, the movement
of each word and letter was tricky as each transformation point had to be adjusted individually. This type of work is also known as Kinetic Typography and is effective when trying to express emotion through type only. I started by creating a draft, which had changing coloured type and a lot of slow movement, however this did not run with the speed of the lyrics sung. Instead I decided to re-do this by sticking to one font and colour which suited the theme of the song. I then experimented with the size, position and angles to represent the change of
tone and pitch of my voice. This worked effectively as the type movement really reflected the background recording. I rendered out the video as a QuickTime and uploaded it onto YouTube, enabling me to post it onto my blog. This weeks project allowed me to become familiar with Kinetic Typography and challenge my creative thinking in the way I animate words. With more time and experience in this field I would like to have made a longer animation with a colourful scheme. The final outcome followed my storyboard, therefore achieving my intended outcome.
Use a good quality print out of an oil painting (16th – 17th century) as a starting point for a stop-frame animation. Alter the painting as the animation progresses, by introducing other elements – backgrounds, objects, etc – and removing others. Consider developing your ideas along the following themes discussed in “Ways Of Seeing”: The animation should last approximately 30 seconds and should contain NO text. At the end of the animation, insert a title card detailing the time, money, and technical resources you dedicated to the work. The frame rate of the animation must be 12fps
For this brief we had to look back at oil painting form the 16th-17th century and use it to create another stop-frame animation. We were introduced to this brief by watching a program called ‘Ways of Seeing’. The documentary was an educational explanation of how oil paintings were viewed during the time of which it was painted. For example oil paintings were seen as a sign of Tradition, wealth, culture and hierarchy. They were a medium, which celebrated ones private possessions such as Hans Holbein’s: The Ambassadors’. For those who lacked money to have
own oil paintings became faceless and inadequate, as it was almost equivalent to owning an identity in society. We the discussed amongst the class how we view fine art today and oil paintings from the 16th-17th century. Issues were raised such as how society has changed and therefore colour photography has replaced paintings in order to portray glamour and beauty more than ownership. Today publicity and the media abuse public strengths through the contrast of images, causing reality itself to become unrecognisable. The animation that we were instructed to create suggested that
we consider the issues brought up both from the documentary and in class. I chose ‘The Avenue at Middleharns’ by Meindert Hobberna in 1689. The oil painting reflected the changes into the 17th century as a time of majestic. I decided to use this as it reflected similarities to the structure of Hollywood strip, however with obvious contrasts. I considered the ways in which time has changed and wanted to portray how society and the world we live in is all about beauty and technology. The themes portrayed in my animation were: Exploitation, future dreams of a better place to live, increase industrialisation and envy of who drives the best cars.
Design 2 x screensaver graphics/illustrations for your mobile phone AND 1 x screensaver graphic/illustration for your computer desktop: For raw material, use only your own photographs of textures and/ or objects. *Of the three designs, one must be black & white, one must be two-colour, and one can use a colour palette of your choice. *Of the three designs, one must have a regular rhythm, one must have a flowing rhythm, and one must have a progressive rhythm. *Of the three designs, one must be mono-rhythmic, and the other two must be poly-rhythmic. Present your three designs on a .pdf (or .jpeg)..
This digital Illustration brief enabled us to acknowledge how to create original screen savers using Photoshop. However we had to incorporate rhythm and repetition in a graphic sense into each design. Rhythm is the repetition of change of elements within a piece of design or music. It can be a form of creating movement and define textures or patterns. The three rhythms in particular we had to consider were: regular, flowing and progressive. A regular rhythm occurred in the intervals between the elements, which usually share similar sizes or lengths.
Flowing rhythm gave a sense of movement and usually varied in structure. Lastly progressive rhythm shows a sequence of forms through a progression of steps, such as over lapping. We also had to incorporate a Mono and Poly rhythmic form into the 3 designs. These restrictions made the brief more challenging, however after several attempts and experiments I created my final 3 illustrations. As we had to use our own photography of textures and objects, I decided to loan an SLR camera and spend some time taking pictures of interesting textures around me.
After having collected a selection of photography we were given a short tutorial on how to use them as background images and alter the colour. We also learnt how to convert particular textures into brushes to create repetition. My final 3 illustrations were crated using photos of headphones, toney wall, wired wall, leaves and lollypop sticks. All 3 designs reflected rhythm and were then uploaded onto my computer screen and phone. The techniques I learnt on Photoshop for this brief have benefited me as I now know how to manipulate an image using textures of my own.