Logo design

I have created a logo which can be seen below. I may use this as my avatar on my different social media accounts, and as a logo on business cards. I wanted my logo to depict me, and appear as friendly and approachable, which i think i have achieved.

Study Task 2 - Networking

These are some networking oppourtunities i am interested in pursuing that i think would be beneficial to my practice.

- Manchester Animation Festival

-Leedsillo
-Gamayo

-Thoughtbubble
-Aesthetica

I also intend to network online, contacting professionals whos work i admire on Linked In, instagram, twitter and through email. I will ask them questions about their work and how they got into the industry.

Study Task 1 - Who am I now?

In second year i learned alot about myself and what direction i would like to take my practice in next. I have definitely become more interested in post production, particularly background design and concept art for backgrounds, rather than animation itself, although this is still something i want to improve at. Over the summer i definitely have improved at drawing, in particular becoming more comfortable with digital drawing and painting, whereas before i was more into traditional.
This year i would like to become more skilled in drawing and animating, i would also like to improve my motion design skills and develop a specialism on this type of animation in after effects.
I deally, at the end of the course i would like to work in a studio or as a freelancer. A position as a background designer or motion designer would be ideal.
As for my social media presence, i have struggled with confidence issues about putting my work online, and because of this i havent made an instagram dedicated to just my work yet, and have instead been posting some of it on my personal instagram. This year id like to develop the confidence to make an art instagram account and upload high quality work regularly.

Showreel

I was quite worried about putting together a showreel at first, mostly because i have a lot of doubts about my work and because i didnt think i would have enough work to actually make one. Because my main area of focus is inbackgroundd design i wasnt sure how i would show them in a showreel, to get around this i brought my digital backgrounds into after effects and slowly revealed each layer so they werent just static backgrounds. I used some animation from first year but the majority of it is from second year. I think this showcases some of my best work but i would have liked to have more actual animation in it.

Study Task 3 - Creative Report

Initially, I intended to interview Tomm Moore for my creative report contact, creative director of Cartoon Saloon, but as I received no reply I found another contact who I think suits my interests within animation better. I chose Steve McCarthy, who I found while researching the background design on Cartoon Saloons 'Song of the Sea.' I am very interested in background design myself and loved the backgrounds in the film, so I thought this may be a good way to find out more about how they were created. I also explored more of Steves work, and I love the illustrative animation style he has developed, which I am keen to learn more about.
The following are the questions I intend to ask:

How did you get into animation/illustration and when did you decide on it as a career?

Do you prefer to work as part of a studio (like Cartoon Saloon) or freelance?

Which technologies do you use?

What inspired your art style?

How do you deal with criticism on your work?

What advice would you give to someone trying to get into the industry and what skills do you think are essential to succeed?

Steve replied to my interview request email, but took a while with the answers, so i sent a prompt email and eventually got my reply. I found the answers he gave really helpful and insightful, and i also saw a lot of what i recognise in myself in the answers. In one of his answers he told me how he didnt even realise being an illustrator was a job until after he had already left college, and thats something that resonated with me because i always feel as though I have to have figured out exactly what i want to do before im even sure what area that might be in. I also found it interesting that he said he prefered freelance work over working in a studio, because i always assumed most artists would prefer a somewhat 'safe' job like a studio provides. The fact that he articulated that his main skill set evolved solely around drawing was encouraging to me, as drawing skill is something i am always trying to improve. I have had to summarise most of his answer in order to make a succint creative report.

Issuu link: https://issuu.com/nicolemeehan/docs/creative_report.pptx

Reflection Presentation

I really struggle with presentations so i always knew this was going to be difficult for me. I made sure to prepare alot for it though and in the end it wasnt that bad, however i definitely still need to improve my presentation skills. I used my presentation to identify how ive changed throughout the year in relation to my work, and it helped me to actually identify how me and my work has progressed, as well as looking into what im interested in for the future.

Study Task 8 - Commissions and freelance

Commissions are something im really interested in giving a go. Because of my lack of confidence in my work, ive never thought of charging people for it when i would draw some things for them, but the seminar we had on this made me realise you have to be ready to charge people for what your work is worth. Before the seminar, i probably would have settled on about £30 for a drawing, regardless of how much time it had taken me or what materials i had to use. Now that im thinking of it in these terms, i think £10 an hour is a much fairer price while im still a student. If i work freelance after i graduate, i imagine this number will go up as i wont have student finance to support me anymore and also i imagine the quality of my work will have improved by then...hopefully.

I found trying to make my own agreement to work and invoice alot more difficult than i was expecting. I dont really have a mind for things like that, and although looking up different examples of artist agreement to work templates i know ive probably missed out alot of things on mine. 

Study task 7- Copy Shop

At this moment in time. i dont actually post much of my work online, except for on my personal instagram account. I havent really ever thought about protecting my work, because i cant see anyone really wanting to pass it off as their own, although i know this is a bad attitude to have. I intend to make myself a watermark when i make different accounts solely dedicated to my artwork, but currently i dont really think it is necessary. My instagram is public and can be messaged by anyone if they are interested in my work, but i should probably advertise more that i would be willing to do commissions. I also realise not having a social media account purely for my work means that it is harder for me to be discovered, but at the minute i really dont feel confident enough in my ability to make one just yet, however this is something i definitely intend to do soon.

Lifes A Pitch

To create a hypothetical animation collective, I teamed up with Ally and Liam Shevill. We each have different skill sets and strengths, mine being primarily background design. We decided on the name 'Wildflower Animation' because we felt this emphasised the brand idea we decided on. We wanted to have a name that shows we are a small, handmade and personal collective. I designed the logo for our collective, deciding on a simple bluebell design. I originally drew a design with quite alot of detail and in the end after talking to my team we decided to simplify the design by only having a few flowers on the logo, which is shown below. I also worked on choosing a colour scheme for our brand.  Forming this group made me realise i actually would possibly like to work in a small collective like this in the future. I know my strength doesnt lie in communicating with others or promoting a brand, which is why i think our collective worked nicely together, because we all bring something different skillwise.

Study Task 6- Cost of Living

Completing the cost of living calculator was really eye opening for me and made me realise how much i actually spend, and that little things you spend money on doesnt seem like much at the time, but over a year it actually adds up to quite a lot. As such, this has made me a bit anxious, but also been interesting to find out how much i actually spend.

Study Task 5

My current social media include:
-Facebook
-Reddit
-Instagram
-DeviantArt
-Tumblr

I mostly use these social media for personal things, however I do often post my work on my personal instagram account. My DeviantArt has been abandoned for a few years and consists of bad anime drawings from when I was younger, but I would be interested in reviving it with more current work. I also intend to branch out by using LinkedIn to make more connections, and I intend to make an instagram account purely for my work, however at the minute i dont feel that my work is up to the standard i want it to be for me to make one. I think i will also make a vimeo account to post actual animation on, and eventually a facebook page dedicated to my art as well. I dont think making a twitter account would be that beneficial for me, because its less about image and more about what you have to say, but im sure it is useful for other purposes.

Study Task 4- Networking

10 Networking Oppourtunities
Face to Face-
-Manchester Animation Festival
-Dublin Animation Festival
-Internships
-Collaborations with students from other courses/unis
-Leeds illo
-University visitor talks

Online
-LinkenIn
-Messaging professionals on instagram
-DeviantArt
-Emailing stuidos about possible internships
-Online Forums/ Responding to live briefs

SWOT Analysis

The SWOT analysis helped me to determine some of my strengths and weaknesses, from my own analysis and from my peers feedback.

My strengths that I identified are mainly in drawing. I also think I am good at adapting to using new software such an Adobe Animate and Photoshop. I am also hardworking and determined.

The weaknesses that I and my peers identified were mostly along the lines of confidence in my own ability and in general. I struggle with anxiety so this makes things like presentations or socialising a weakness for me. I also often put my work down and become very easily discouraged when Im not good at something right away, and compare myself to others a lot. I also worry too much about what other people will think of my work.

Who am I now?

What I have learned so far

• How to use animation software like Adobe Animate and Photoshop
• The different stages to producing an animation, such as pre production techniques like storyboarding
• How to design characters
• How to develop an effective story
• Developed presentation skills

What do I want to know more about?

• Stop Motion animation
• Concept Art
• Backgrounds
• Character Design
• Story development

Strengths

• Perserverance
• Problem Solving
• Working as a team
• Fast learner
• Patience
• Drawing skills

What do I want to improve?

• I could further improve my presentation skills
• Time management
• Skills in animate and photoshop
• Drawing skills
• My use of the principles of animation

Practitioners that demonstrate my interest in animation

• Natasha Allegri, the creator of Bee and Puppycat and a storyboard artist and character designer on Adventure Time
• Studio Ghibli; I am particularly interested in the concept art and background designs that Ghibli uses in their animated films
• Cartoon Saloon; I love the backgrounds and general art style of their films like Song of the Sea
• Nintendo game studios- although not exactly animation I am extremely interested in the environments in nintendo games such as Legend of Zelda or Animal Crossing
• BreakThru films will soon be releasing their film 'Loving Vincent,' a film about Vincent Van Goghs life which is entirely made up of oil paintings. He is my favourite artist so im excited to see how the animation turns out

Online resources that demonstrate my interest in the creative industries;

• I follow a lot of artists on instagram whose work I admire and use as inspiration for my drawing skills. Some of my favourites are artists Cyarin, octoplum and fairyhands.
• Ctrl-Paint.com is a website with lots of free tutorials to teach you how to paint digitally. I followed a lot of the guides over summer and found them very useful.
• The Art of animation - this is a facebook page i follow which regularly posts lots of images and videos showing the production of animations from studios like Disney etc. I like seeing the different character designs and concept art from the various productions art books.
• Living Lines Library- shows pencil tests, character designs etc from popular animations
• Skwigly- online animation magazine with interviews, reviews etc.

Twilight Princess

Twilight Princess is probably my favourite game in the Legend of Zelda franchise. What I particularly loved about the game is how much darker and morbid it is than the other Zelda games, it creates a really immersive atmosphere and gives the game alot of depth. Not only is the game visually darker than most of the other Zelda games, such as Skyward Sword, which has a bright and more cartoon-like aesthetic, but the story itself is darker and has much scarier enemies. What really makes the game feel so dark is the sense of loneliness and isolation in it, you can visit locations that were in older Zelda games, for example, Lon Lon Ranch which was in Ocarina of time, but in Twilight Princess you find these places completely desecrated whereas before they were so full of life. The evil in Twilight princess can literally be seen, as a dark shadow falls over the land. The colors are darker and more somber, the music isn't quite as bright and upbeat; also the fact that during parts of the game you are playing through a never-ending twilight where people no longer really exist but don't realize there is something wrong really makes the game an atmospheric experience. 

Gudetama the Lazy Egg

Gudetama is a lazy egg with depression created by Sanrio. He has his own short 20 second animated episodes, where he does typical lazy egg things. I love how cute he is and his little bacon blanket. He is usally a fried egg but can also be in many egg forms, such as hardboiled or scrambled. He has quickly become one of Japans most popular mascots, following in Hello Kitty's footsteps. I think he's so loved in Japan because unlike most pop culture icons, he shows less expressed emotions like sadness and laziness. Japan seems to be really good at giving inanimate objects personality and making them internaitonally loved. He shows how we all feel at times, just wanting to retreat back into our shells - which he does literally. I like the Gudetama facebook page and seeing the animated shorts makes my day sometimes.

Me either

I got my own Gudetama flask in Tokyo

Life, Animated

For my research into autism in the Applied Animation module, my group and I decided to watch 'Life Animated.' The film was released in 2016 and produced and directed by Roger Ross Williams. The film tells the story of 23 year old Owen Suskind and his life, particularly how he deals with the challenges of autism through Disney films. I found the film really touching and it opened my eyes more to what living with autism is actually like, and a better grasp of what people who live with it experience. 

Although most of the film was live action, the animated scenes were really beautiful and i think the style suited the story alot. The animated scenes were used mostly to show points of Owens life when he used Disney animated films as a form of escapism, he would frequently be shown in a world of his own creation, The Land of the Lost Sidekicks, where he was shown as a child, with some of his favourite sidekicks, like Baloo the bear from the Jungle Book, and Sebastian the crab from the Little Mermaid. The darker times in Owens life were shown using a sketchier style of animation with very little colour, which contrasted alot with the vivid scenes when he had learned to cope through Disney films.

 I found it really interesting how he used different points in the films in order to relate to and cope with challenges he faced in real life, like leaving his parents home to live alone, or when his girlfriend broke up with him. It gave me a new appreciation for Disney because of how much it helped him to deal with lifes challenges. 

Animal Crossing

Animal Crossing is one of my favourite games of all time. It doesn't have any action or a fast paced story, and provides a completely different experience than other games. The game is so simple; living in a town filled with cute animal neighbours; with simple goals like collecting fish or decorating your house. The sense of immersion and tranquility in the game is what makes it so special, it doesnt have to rely on action scenes or even amazing graphics to be thoroughly enjoyable to play. The adorable style of the graphics in the game make the towns you inhabit so picturesque and eventually you actually start to feel at home there. Another thing I love about Animal Crossing is the soundtrack; its so mesmerizing and tranquil, perfect background noise for the activities in the game. The themed holidays were also a favourite aspect of the game for me; because the game was in real time, you could go to you town and celebrate christmas day, new years, halloween, etc. This level of escapism is what makes the game so special and loved.
 I've owned 3 animal crossing games, Wild World on Nintendo DS, Lets Go to the City on the Wii, and New Leaf on the 3DS. My favourite, and the first one I owned, was Let's go to the City. There was so much exploring to do in the game and because it was my first time playing its got such a nostalgia now for me.

My Life as a Courgette

Because I didn't get to go to Manchester animation Festival last year, I had a lot of catching up to do hearing about all the great animations my friends saw there. 'My Life as a Courgette' was definitely the most talked about, so I decided to watch it online. I didn't really know what to expect at all because I knew nothing about the story, but once I started watching I found myself really enjoying it. The animation looked visually striking because of the characters big, tired looking eyes, which definitely lent itself to the story because it was very poignant. I haven't watched a stop motion i enjoyed alot in a while, so this was really refreshing, especially because the story itself was purely based in real life, not having and fantasy elements, which is interesting for a stop motion. I loved howcharming and emotional the story was and how it was simple but reallymoving.

The Walking Dead game

Telltale games make a few different brilliant games that all have the same comic book style graphics and distinctive feel. The walking dead game, which I played a few years ago, has remained one of my favourite games of all time. I love how you have to make decisions in the game that could potentially result in some dire consequences for the characters,it makes the game feel so intense and as if you are actually part of the story and in danger. The game is also extremely emotional in the way that it can so easily take some of your favourite characters away from you, and alot of the times it can be your fault. I love zombie apocalypse stories in general, and I played this game before watching the AMC tv show, which has a completely different story line and set of characters, and in my opinion the story is much weaker than the game. I got bored of the show after season 2, but the game is something i always go back to. I also love the comic book style of the game, it works so well as the walking dead is based off a series of comic books by Robert Kirkman, which I have read a few of.