Clay animation

Clay annimation is one of many forms of stop motion animation there is. Each animated piece, either character or background, is created using a malleable substance, usually Clay or plasticine. 

Each object is sculpted from clay usually around a wire skeleton also known as an armature, it is then arranged on the set where it is photographed once before being slightly moved to prepare it for the next shot, and so on until the animator has achieved the correct amount of film needed. Upon playback the mind of the viewer perceives the series of slightly changing, images as motion.

Examples of this animation are things such as ;Wallace and grommet, Shaun the sheep, chicken run, morphe and many others. 

evaluation

YouTube links -

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=F7aljx82uWo 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=crW2TyUCz5Q

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=XkwDD7G5Da4

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5QmwG1UDLDo

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_-zJzDVJ-lE

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kk8iGrr-un4

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=tonTNWUg7b0

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9OtWgbt-xoA

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=L4mPTfra9g4

The history of stop motion annimation

Video created by myself ; https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=crW2TyUCz5Q

1824:	Peter Roget presented his paper 'The persistence of vision with regard to moving objects' to the British Royal Society.
1831:	Dr. Joseph Antoine Plateau (a Belgian scientist) and Dr. Simon Rittrer constructed a machine called a phenakitstoscope. This machine produced an illusion of movement by allowing a viewer to gaze at a rotating disk containing small windows; behind the windows was another disk containing a sequence of images. When the disks were rotated at the correct speed, the synchronization of the windows with the images created an animated effect.
1872:	Eadweard Muybridge started his photographic gathering of animals in motion.
1887:	Thomas Edison started his research work into motion pictures.
1889:	Thomas Edison announced his creation of the kinetoscope which projected a 50ft length of film in approximately 13 seconds.
1889:	George Eastman began the manufacture of photographic film strips using a nitro-cellulose base.
1892:	Emile Renynaud, combining his earlier invention of the praxinoscope with a projector, opens the Theatre Optique in the Musee Grevin. It displays an animation of images painted on long strips of celluloid.
1895:	Louis and Augustine Lumiere issued a patent for a device called a cinematograph capable of projecting moving pictures.
1896:	Thomas Armat designed the vitascope which projected the films of Thomas Edison. This machine had a major influence on all sub-sequent projectors.
1906:	J. Stuart Blackton made the first animated film which he called "Humorous phases of funny faces." His method was to draw comical faces on a blackboard and film them. He would stop the film, erase one face to draw another, and then film the newly drawn face. The Ôstop-motionÕ provided a starting effect as the facial expressions changed be fore the viewerÕs eyes.
1908:	In France Emile Cohl produced a film, Phantasmagorie which was the first depicting white figures on a black background.
1910:	Emile Cohl makes En Route the first paper cutout animation. This technique saves time by not having to redraw each new cell, only reposition the paper.
1911:	Winsor McCay produced an animation sequence using his comic strip character "Little Nemo."
1913:	J.R. Bray devised "Colonel Heeza Liar," and Sidney Smith created "Old Doc Yak."
1914:	John R Bray applies for a patent on numerous techniques for animation. One of the most revolutionary being the process of printing the backgrounds of the animation.
1914:	Winsor McCay produced a cartoon called "Gertie, The Trained Dinosaur" which amazingly consisted of 10,000 drawings.
1914:	Earl Hurd applies for a patent for the technique of drawing the animated portion of an animation on a clear celluloid sheet and later photographing it with its matching background. [Cel animation]
1917:	The International Feature Syndicate released many titles including "Silk Hat Harry","Bringing Up Father", and "Krazy Kat".
1919:	Pat Sullivan created an American cartoon "Felix the Cat."
1926:	The first feature-length animated film called "El Apostol" is created in Argentina.
1923:	Walt and Roy Disney found Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio.
1923:	Walt Disney extended Max Fleischer's technique of combining live action with cartoon characters in the film "Alice's Wonderland".
1927:	Warner Brothers released "The Jazz Singer" which introduced combined sound and images.
1928:	Walt Disney created the first cartoon with synchronized sound called "Steam Boat Willy".
1930:	The King of Jazz is produced by Universal. In it is a short animated sequence done by Walter Lantz. It is the first animation done with the two strip technicolor process
1934:	Urb Irwek creates a multi-plane camera. This camera is capable of filming several separate layers of cels giving the final frame a truly three dimensional look.
1943:	John and James Whitney produced "Five Abstract Film Exercises."
1945:	Harry Smith produced animation by drawing directly onto film.
1957:	John Whitney used 17 Bodine motors, 8 Selsyns, 9 different gear units and 5 ball integrators to create analog computer graphics.
1961:	John Whitney used differential gear mechanisms to create film and television title sequences.
1963:	Ivan Sutherland and SKETCHPAD at MIT/Lincoln Labs
1964:	Ken Knowlton, working at Bell Laboratories, started developing computer techniques for producing animated movies.
1972:	University of Utah, Ed Catmull develops an animation scripting language and creates an animation of a smooth shaded hand. Ref: E. Catmull, "A System for Computer Generated Movies", Proceedings of the ACM National Conference, 1972. (In the SIGGRAPH 98 Seminal Graphics collection.)
1972:	University of Utah, Fred Parke creates first computer generated facial animation. >Ref: F. Parke, "Computer Generated Animation of Faces", Proceedings of the ACM National Conference, 1972. (In the SIGGRAPH 98 Seminal Graphics collection.)
1974:	National Research Council of Canada releases Hunger/La Faim directed by Peter Foldes and featuring Burtnyk and Wein interactive keyframing techniques. Ref: N. Burtnyk and M. Wein, "Interactive Skeleton Techniques for Enhancing Motion Dynamics in Key Frame Animation", Communications of the ACM, 19(10), October 1976. (In the SIGGRAPH 98 Seminal Graphics collection.)
1982:	Tron, MAGI, movie with CG premise
1983:	Bill Reeves at Lucasfilm publishes techniques for modeling particle systems. "Demo" is Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn. The paper also promotes motion blur. Ref: W. Reeves, "Particle Systems -- A Technique for Modeling a Class of Fuzzy Objects", Computer Graphics, 17(3), July 1983. (In the SIGGRAPH 98 Seminal Graphics collection.)
1984:	The Last Starfighter, CG is used in place of models
1984:	Porter and Duff at Lucusfilm publish paper on digital compositing using an alpha channel. Ref: T. Porter and T. Duff, "Compositing Digital Images", Computer Graphics, 18(3), July 1984. (In the SIGGRAPH 98 Seminal Graphics collection.)
1985:	Girard and Maciejewski at OSU publish a paper describing the use of inverse kinematics and dynamics for animation. Their techniques are used in the animation "Eurythmy." Ref: M. Girard and A. A. Maciejewski, "Computational Modeling for the Computer Animation of Legged Figures", Computer Graphics, 19(3), July 1985. (In the SIGGRAPH 98 Seminal Graphics collection.)
1985:	Ken Perlin at NYU publishes a paper on noise functions for textures. He later applied this technique to add realism to character animations. Ref: K. Perlin, "An Image Synthesizer", Computer Graphics, 19(3), July 1985. (In the SIGGRAPH 98 Seminal Graphics collection.)
1987:	John Lasseter at Pixar publishes a paper describing traditional animation principles. "Demos" are Andre and Wally B and Luxo Jr. Ref: J. Lasseter, "Principles of Traditional Animation Applied to 3D Computer Animation", Computer Graphics, 21(4), July 1987. (In the SIGGRAPH 98 Seminal Graphics collection.)
1987:	Craig Reynolds then at Symbolics (now at Dreamworks SKG) publishes a paper on self-organizing behavior for groups. "Demos" are Stanley and Stella and Batman Returns. Ref: C. W. Reynolds, "Flocks, Herds, and Schools: A Distributed Behavioral Model", Computer Graphics, 21(4), July 1987. (In the SIGGRAPH 98 Seminal Graphics collection.)
1988:	Willow uses morphing in live action film
1992:	Beier and Neely, at SGI and PDI respectively publish an algorithm where line correspondences guide morphing between 2D images. "Demo" is Michael Jackson video Black and White. Ref: T. Beier and S. Neely, "Feature-Based Image Metamorphosis", Computer Graphics, 26(2), July 1992. (In the SIGGRAPH 98 Seminal Graphics collection.) v
1993:	Chen and Williams at Apple publish a paper on view interpolation for 3D walkthroughs. Ref: S. E. Chen and L. Williams, "View Interpolation for Image Synthesis", Computer Graphics Proceedings, Annual Conference Series, 1993. (In the SIGGRAPH 98 Seminal Graphics collection.)
1993:	Jurassic Park use of CG for realistic living creatures
1995:	Toy Story first full-length 3D CG feature film

Glossary

Time based art-Contemporary art work that can include video, film, slide, audio of computer based technology's as well as traditional processes of image making. 

Kinetic art- Art that depends on motion for effect. 

Stop frame animation - A technique to make a physically manipulated image appear to move on its own. It's used with frames and put on a loop for a never ending sequence. 

(onion skinning)- Picture layering, building and layering up images.

Mediate and synthesis of an image-

Silhouette - A silhouette is an image which is presented in block form just showing the outline and no detail. 

Zoetrope - A sphere shaped spinner with small slots in used to slide in images and spin around creating a moving image 

Flick book animation - quickly flicking a book or paper with different images on to create a moving animation.  

Time lapse- Photographic technique of taking a sequence of frames at set intervals to record changes that take place slowly over time. When the frames are shown at normal speed the action seems much faster.

Stop motion animation

Here are mine and livs stop motion animation images. We drew a flower slowly growing by taking pictures of the image and slightly changing the image and then taking another image. We produced this using paper and marker pens. Then by adding the images together it makes the clips look like they're linked and the plants growing. I put the animation together using an app on my phone called gif creator which has really helped me a lot through the project. I enjoyed creating this and editing it to my liking by increasing and decreasing the speed and cropping the images to link together. 

Although this stop motion animation is not the best I could of done I still believe it was a good effort and I'm proud of my result.

Thaumatrope

I drew on a piece of paper; front and back and attached plastic bands to the paper while spinning it around it made the two sections look like a whole image. This is called thaumatrope. I decided to do a balloon design with the base of the balloon on one side and the string on the other. I liked the idea of making this it works quite similar to a flip book in which I was really exited to make. These are becoming very popular lately and are seen a lot on social media sites and art blogs. 

Action painting

Today I created an action painting which was my favourite activity in this project so far. Firstly I had looked deeply in to Pollocks work due to being an abstract artist myself. I watched his videos of him painting and this is what inspired us to do something similar. We places a piece of clear plastic over our phone/ iPad whilst it was filming and we then threw paint on it creating a cool video final outcome! It was really fun doing it and captured the art being made from a different perspective. I used the colours black white and yellow just to create a bold yet stand out piece. I also printed it onto paper afterwards just to remember the piece I created. It was interesting videoing this from the angles I did and I enjoyed the messy abstractness involved in the task.

Reportage drawing

First in this activity I drew a person 5 times in quick 30 second drawings I chose to draw my friend Leah. I created these drawings without taking my pen off the paper on each drawing.

I think these drawings turned out quite well even though they all look like completely different people.

I was then asked to draw 5 objects but without looking at the object only for 5 seconds at the beginning. This meant I had to memorise the objects which proved difficult my results where not too good. 

Finally I was told to draw one image large in a piece of paper I stuck with drawing my friend. I was then told to rotate the image and draw it again and so on 5 times the result was quite an abstract piece with 5 faces on it. I did it in more than 1 colour to show you it clearer 

History of the zoetrope

Zoetrope is a vintage toy that is used a lot in animation. It was originally developed in 1830s. The Zoetrope has recently been a large feature in the film, “The Woman In Black” and is used as quite a spooky object in many horror films. 

The zoetrope consists of a cilinder shaped object with slits missing down the sides in which you can place your images and see them step by step and broken down creating the idea that it's moving in our mind. The slits in the cilinder simply stop the images blurring out and giving our eyes a second break. 

The modern zoetrope was invented in 1834 by British mathematician William George Horner. He called the zoetrope "Daedalum," which translates as "the wheel of the devil" this has been said to be due to the high religious belief in them times linking to the devil and god. 

Zoetrope workshop

We did a workshop using the zoetrope. At this point I was extremely inspired by the Zoetrope i had seen at the civic exhibition and I wanted to produce something that worked as well as that.

I created a page/mood board full of images that I thought could work well ;

I decided on the bee as my final idea however I liked the plan of a flower growing and that showing in the zoetrope stage by stage. Personally I thought my other ideas where a bit useless and wouldn't work as well.

The bee idea stuck with me so indecised to design a bee flying to a flower to collect pollen, I re drew the bee and did a story board bit by bit what would happen. 

I then decided to start my cards and had to ensure they where all the correct size and shape to give me the best possible out come. I drew my design on to each slice of paper but making sure the bee was still in the same position but just slightly changed this proved difficult and took a while tracing everything perfectly.

Overall I think that my zoetrope came out okay however I felt it could be bolder and more obvious on what it actually was. I could have done this by possibly creating a stronger outline. 

Bill viola - video art

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=UJQmV8aPNao

Bill violas work revolves itself around life death and spirituality! Personally his work is a bit too confusing for me and very deep. However it's amazing how much meaning his work has behind it and what each object / thing happening means. His work is very emotionally charged with a lot of expression and feeling put into it.

Viola uses things such as the five stages of awakening and religion in his work which can often confuse people. His work personally isn't my type of art however I appreciate how in depth it is and how much meaning is behind it. 

Helen green - gif work

I first heard about Helen Green when she created the gif of David bowies hair styles after his death. I really loved this gif, possibly because I love David Bowie. I think the images created are amazing and the way the gif flows is brilliant too. I then went on to looking at some of Greens other work she has created and I realised she creates a lot of gifs which include celebrity's and their changing in style. Her most popular gifs are probably the David Bowie gif and her lady gaga gifs which both show lots of skill! 

David Hockney / iPad art

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=RNK_Uq_0SyI

I took great interest in David hockey's digital art he created using his I pad on a paint app! I really love the creative idea and mixing modern technology with fine art! I think the pieces he creates are remarkable and I was really inspired by the bright colours and his abstract twists!

I really love how much detail he has been able to add into a drawing fully done on an I pad. He does a lot of landscapes and a lot of nature in these iPad paintings and he also videos himself doing them too. I had a go at creating my own iPad painting similar to David hockey's, it proved very difficult which I think is why I appreciate his paintings so much now. 

Animation civic exhibition.

The civic was very interesting and helped a lot with this project. I really liked the atmosphere and all the interactivity going on in the room! The pieces really inspired me and made me look forward more to the project! There was many pieces I thought where interesting including the zoetrope and the skeleton moving. All the sculptures around the room got people up and doing something which was a completely different style of art in which I've seen. I took many pictures and videos and tried everything around the room! There where a range of things in which I took part in and enjoyed. There was plenty of information around the exhibition letting us know about each sculpture in detail.

My favourite piece was the colourful shapes where you hover your hands over and it changes colour. I loved how abstract it was and very clever. I thought it was really cool how sensitive it was and how it could sensor our hands from over the top of the sculpture. All the shapes and colours where really bright and I really loved it. 

Mood board draft

Today in lesson we started the new project, I created a mood board around what I needed to do! It was created to help me when doing all the parts of the project that I needed. I then plan to recreate this draft on a word document to make this a digital mood board adding photos and more skills. I will post the final mood board on my blog when completed! Overall this mood board has really helped me to plan out what I need to do and keep some organisation in this project! 

Planning out what 5 edits I needed to do has helped me know what I am up to date with meaning I should get everything handed in and posted on time.

Caro evaluation

Transcribing Caro evaluation – Maisy Parnell

 

Did you find collecting primary research on the trip to YSP / Hepworth Gallery valuable? How did you find observing the sculptures in life (rather than using secondary imagery)?

I found collecting images and taking my own pictures on the YSP/Hepworth trip extremely useful because it meant I could work off my images.  I found observing the sculptures in real life and their natural form very helpful and I really enjoyed drawing them in my fold in sketchbook. Overall the primary and secondary research I achieved on the trip made my work on this project much more successful.

How well did your primary research turn out? Why / why not? (Discuss your photographs, collection of information and drawings from the trip).

The primary research I achieved went well. However, I feel like I could have produced some higher quality images from the trip and was disappointed I couldn’t take a picture of the sculpture all the way around. I think the drawings from the trip went well too I managed to fill both sketchbooks I made to a decent quality.

How effective do you think your research is? (Include looking at other sculptors eg. Calder, Miro and others you may have studied).

I think my research was relatively effective. When looking at Caro’s pieces and other artists work it helped me get a clearer understanding on what I wanted my final piece to turn out like. I enjoyed researching into sculptures that were different to caro. Also, I researched the renaissance period and took inspiration from them images too.

How have you planned, organised and prepared design solutions for a 3 dimensional sculpture? Eg. What type of sculpture did you choose to design? (Floor / plinth mounted, wall-mounted or suspended kinetic sculpture?) Why / why not?

I chose to design a wall sculpture because I was really inspired by caros paper sculptures seen at the ysp. I planned this by making mini maquets and planning a lot into what I wanted to do. I designed a few ideas and decided on 1 I liked which helped me plan and organize what I needed to create my final sculpture.

What practical skills, understanding and methods have you used (in the workshops) in the production of your maquettes, Calder inspired suspended sculpture and final sculpture?

I used Things such as wood bending and steaming which was a new thing for me as I had never tried or heard of that before, Paper making was another process in me making my sculpture and my maquets. Also, I used Clay for the base of my Sculpture which was another process I didn’t know too much about.

Have you had any difficulties in the production of your sculpture to date, or have you had to change anything? Eg. In the ceramics, 3D or print workshop? If so, how have you problem solved and overcome these difficulties? Or how have you accommodated your changes?

One of the first difficulties I came across was in ceramics, deciding how big the frame would be and measuring it perfectly to fit my wood was a difficult process and tested my patients. Bending the wood also proved a task as it sometimes started to crack. I also struggled a lot cutting the wood pieces as I couldn’t control the drill and the bansaw fully causing me to cut more wood than I intended. I solved this problem by drawing myself a better outline on the wood and going slower so I could keep control of the amount I was cutting off.

 

How well did you manage your time throughout this project to date?

I feel like my time management went well on this project. I tried to complete all work set and stuck to the deadline. I feel like my sculpture was produced on time and to a high quality standard.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Distinction doors evaluation

Distinction doors evaluation- Maisy Parnell

How did you analyse the requirements and parameters of the project?

I analysed the requirements by creating a mind map and also creating visual mind maps in my sketchbook. I also kept checking on the project brief making sure that I finished everything properly and to the right quality.

How effective do you think your research is? (Discuss your primary, secondary and target audience research. You can analyse your research into doors as well as your theme ‘let the outside in’).

       I feel my research was very effective. For example primary research I took myself which helped me get a feel for the style of door I liked and got inspired from. Also I did a lot of research into Distinction doors and their website which helped me get an idea on the type of doors they make and what product they would be expecting. I did a lot of research into target audience producing a mind map and evaluating what they would like. Also the theme let the outside in was researched a lot in my work leading me to many different ideas and pathways.

Analyse how effective you think your designer / artist research is? How did you use it to develop your door designs?

I don’t feel like I did enough research into different artists. I couldn’t get inspired. I feel that if I had looked more into other artists and designers my final door designs could have suited the company a bit more.

How did you interpret the theme ‘let the outside in’? What influenced you?

I got inspired by many things during looking at this theme. The main thing was rust mould and decay! I looked a lot at rust and decaying wood, moss and ivy. Natural decaying. This is because I thought it looked very effective and I thought that the doors I saw with these things on had a lot of personality and texture. I also looked deeply into nature and different types of glass.

      How easy or challenging have you found it to design for your specified target audience?

       I have found it challenging to design something for someone else and not to my taste.    This meant that I couldn’t always use my ideas and take the project through the path I wanted to. I found it hard deciding what type of outcome my target audience would like.

How have you planned, organised and prepared design solutions for a 2 dimensional door design? Eg. What style, materials and colour scheme did you choose to use? Why? How did you plan your glass elements?

I looked a lot on the website for this bit looking at the most popular colours they had and the coolest glass designs. I focused a lot on what they already had to work with and then just expanded those ideas using my research. I chose the colour scheme of blues and browns to go with the rusty theme. And I liked the imprinted glass options.

What practical skills, understanding and techniques have you used in the production of your sketchbook and design sheets?

In my sketch book I used a lot of new skills. I created a lot of new textures using different materials and techniques such as using papier mache and mixing different mediums together. 

Have you had any difficulties in designing your contemporary and standard door designs? If so, how have you problem solved and overcome these difficulties? Or how have you accommodated your changes?

I had difficulty designing my standard door as I didn’t really understand what a standard door was. I was confused and stuck and didn’t like the idea of creating an extremely simple door because that was not my style. I also didn’t like the contempary doors I had looked at on distinction doors websites so I found it hard to be inspired.

How well have you managed your time throughout the project?

I Feel like I managed my time relatively well on this project and kept up to Date with what I needed to do. I feel however that I could have been quicker when designing my final boards and I could have been less stressed towards the end.

How have you found your experience of working for a real client (Distinction Doors)?

I found the experience very enjoyable however a lot of pressure, I didn’t like the fact that I had to create these designs to tailor them because I found it a struggle to understand exactly what they wanted and needed from me. However it was definitely and experience that will help me in the future.

How have you prepared for your presentation to Distinction Doors?

I created a power point to prepare for my presentation I also made sure that all my sketch book was in order and I knew what I was saying throughout.

 

 

Gif

Gif 

Here is my gif i made, Its a ballerina that i drew .
I produced 4 different images and added them together to create this I'm extremely pleased with the result I achieved from this gif. I created these images myself and used marker pens to add the colour. This gif consists of 4 separate drawings which have then been scanned in to edit on photo shop. 

I found it difficult to edit the photos on photoshop as it's very techniqal and difficult to get the hang of. However I did manage to create the gif after trying very hard.

This has been my biggest challenge in this project however I feel like I've learnt  a lot about photoshop and I think I will be able to use this in the future.