Showcase

Introduction

For this final unit at Freestyle, we looked more into preparing for the future, which involved creating a personal stationary, and compiling a bunch of different videos into an Animation Reel highlighting development over the past two years. We were also asked to reflect on two different projects , and reflect on our growth. Both were projects that I tackled in different stages of my life, with different skill levels.

Animated Documentary- “Outside”

One of the projects in junior year was a documentary, which we animated in Animation class after interviewing different people on a certain topic.

This is the full documentary up on YouTube.

I think the message delivered was important, which was the whole purpose of the documentary. The designs of the characters were simple and distinct, which was good. However, I also feel like the backgrounds feel a little too plain, which was my intent at first, but more detail could have added more, and helped contribute to the atmosphere. The outside could have been greatly improved. However, I was running out of time, so I had to rush several things, unfortunately, which contributed to the plainness of the backgrounds and inconsistency in the animation style. I know now how important it is to have a background aiding the story, and learning skills such as dedication to long projects such as this will help me in my future endeavors.

Zenith Project

The Zenith project was the final project of Animation class in Senior year, in which I focused on making a background environment in 3D, and implementing a more effective color scheme to give off desert atmosphere.

I think overall that the color scheme was pretty strong conveying a hot desert atmosphere, which was my primary goal. I used warm colors to make the image seem hot, while also adding a different color to highlight the hut against the background. I also like the different added, detailed props, which I feel give more reference to the desert environment. My favorite in particular is the monster skull, which adds a story element, making it mysterious. I think this was a big improvement over past backgrounds, and demonstrates my development. However, there could have been more improvements with world building, maybe developing characters as well. 3D modeling and background design is now something I feel fairly confident in, which is an important skill that could help me in the future with my career, and opens up more opportunities.

Final Reflection

My final reflection on my experience here at Freestyle is how fortunate I am to have received this opportunity. Previous to Freestyle, I hadn’t gone into art, or really considered it as something I wanted to do. I hadn’t even taken a real art class. I started getting pretty interested in Animation however, and I am grateful that Freestyle offered a course so that I can explore that area, to find out that this was what I wanted for my future. I appreciate how it taught me to think critically and thoroughly, and how it expanded my skills and knowledge concerning technology and softwares in Digital Media, while offering deeply fascinating and relevant topics to learn about in English. I owe a lot to Freestyle. It has influenced me in allowing me to develop a creative mindset, and become more familiar with the subjects needed to start out as an artist. I’m more open to coming up with my own ideas, and learning about lots of different subjects and issues being grappled with today.