PRODUCTION
backgrounds and assets:
I thought that it would be a good idea to create the backgrounds for my animation before I started animating because I had originally planned to do this on my GANNT chart and it will be useful to get them done beforehand. I started by making a list of all I needed to make on a Google Docs table so that I could track my progress on each drawing.
I made some mood boards for the backgrounds and the digital assets I'll be making. I thought this would be a good way to get some more inspiration and a way to gather my ideas on how I want it to look.
I selected pictures of bedrooms like the one I had drawn in my storyboards, and pictures of bands that could go on the posters and walls of the bedroom. I wanted this to convey the 'indie, alt girl' idea that I tried to make Audrey's character design reflect. The digital space ideas are 'aesthetic' versions of old Windows UI which I found really pretty. I like the idea of making the windows/notifications on the devices in this retro look and pastel colours..
I also made references for each background using the room I had made in the Sims 4 before.
I started making the backgrounds, I traced over the reference images to get the basics of the geometry and perspective and added details like the bedding, stuffed animals, posters, hanging plants and lights.
I then refined the sketch and added details to the posters on the walls, I traced over a couple of band posters. I kept these bands to the 'Indie' genre so that I could carry on my intention of wanting the bedroom design to reflect the occupant's 'alt tiktok' girl aesthetic and I felt like that genre of music was perfect for that sort of character. I also drew the teddy bears in the corner referenced from top sellers on Amazon. I thought this would be a good way to get some cute and popular plush toys that some people may recognise.
Posters with fictional characters and the reference:
I then finished drawing the backgrounds, using the references and copying lines I'd already drawn like the posters and mirror to save time. I tried to keep the colour palette quite pastel to complement my character designs. The colouring took a longer time to complete, with lots of details in the posters and bedding to replicate across each drawing. Though tedious, I really enjoyed adding all the details to the posters and added references to characters in TV/anime I like. I hope that all these posters and details will help show Audrey's nerdy and online personality type.
animating my film
I started animating my film, I began by drawing rough sketches of the keyframes, referencing each shot from the storyboards. I think I will have to use/ create some sort of reference for these movements to help me visualise the way the character will move. I found it tricky to start posing without a reference, so I plan to take videos of myself doing these things. Which I then can use to help make the in between frames too. Hopefully, this will make the movements more realistic and natural.
making references
an outtake of trying to make the pose I wanted
I picked out a couple of shots I thought would be harder to animate and acted out some of the movements, I'll use these as a guide when I animate them.
Here are the videos I got and the storyboard they refer to:
MAKING KEYFRAMES:
I continued making my keyframes, using the videos as a guide. I began by mapping out the basic character anatomy and pose. Though basic and gruff, it was very satisfying to start to see the character in the environments I had designed. I found that I actually really like this sketchy look. Not this undetailed or unrefined though, I might keep this aesthetic by continuing using the pencil tool, forgoing line art in favour of a refined sketch I can then clean up and add colour to. I believe that this will achieve that sketch look and help save time. Hopefully this will give me a more consistent style for this piece and allow me more time to animate and colour.
This is a clip of some keyframes I have drawn, I set the FPS to 2 so that I will be able to see them move, when I move on to in-betweens, this will be increased to 12 or 24, I haven't decided yet. I may animate in 2's or 3's too. I'll have to experiment with what works for this project. I would really like to get more knowledge on FPS and hopefully I can investigate this further.
I found using the videos really useful when it came to the posing of those trickier movements, like the falling off the bed because the body changes angle, I find it harder to draw characters at angles facing downwards like that so it was a really useful resource to have.
finishing my animation
After drawing key-frames, I realised that I didn't have as much time as I needed to complete the amount of animation I had planned for. I had cut down the story segment from all the storyboards to a smaller section in keyframes, then I made that even smaller so I could focus on making a few quality frames. Even then, I had a lot less time than I had estimated to complete this. To combat this I decided to do one shot with smooth animation or try to focus on a wider clip in a more animatic style. I leaned towards the latter because I still wanted the audience to get a feel for the wider story idea I had originally planned. I added more inbetweens to the keyframes and used some smear frames to cut down on time.
I worked on different layers as I went, looking at the layer panel you can see what my process looked like. I started with rough sketches of the poses then drew over them and tried to keep them to the character reference. I added colour underneath and layered light and shade on top. I found the lines and flat colours to be quite transparent, so I copied the layers and merged them together.
Once the flat colours were done, I considered whether I should have finished it there or not, but I thought the frames looked quite flat and wanted to put my experimental research and practice in shading and colour to good use. I did the lines and colour and most of the shading using the pencil brush. I wanted them to match the pencil that I had also used in the background and I thought that a sketchy look would save time since I would have to focus less on the details. I also liked how this time cutting method gave the animation a more cohesive aesthetic.
This part was my favourite to shade since I could add in multiple light sources like the lamp, the window, the fairy lights, and the laptop. I drew most of the shading on the same layer using the pencil brush, I alternated between a cooler dark blue and purples to blend out the shadows. I then added the highlights in the pencil and created the light paths with the highlighter brush. I really enjoyed the shading process, it felt very satisfying to be able to tie together all the colours and add some atmosphere in a way that felt like I was painting. I tried to make a slightly gloomy mood with the cool shadows which make the bedroom look like its dark. However, the layering of all those darker and lighter tones slightly washed out the vibrancy of the original flat colours. This could add to that gloomy tone but I also feel like the darkest areas look muddy and could do with more colour. Next time, I'd like to be able to spend more time refining my shading so that I can make sure they all look good together.