Process and Production Showreel 2016

Process and Production Showreel - Sara's Studio from Ioanna Avraam on Vimeo.

After Effects - Rotoscoping

In today's process & production session with Sara we looked at rotoscoping in After Effects. First we chose a piece of footage to rotoscope. I chose to use Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse Steamboat Willie. We imported the video in After Effects and using the pen tool we drew the part we wanted to show in the video by automatically creating a mask. Once we rotoscoped the video, we created a loop. After that we added a background and music of our choice. 

After Effects - Rotoscoping from Ioanna Avraam on Vimeo.

Cinema 4D - Character Rigging

In our last studio practice with Jay, we learned how to create and use joints in order to create 3d characters and animate them in an easier way. Although it was really interesting, it is going to be hard to do it on my own, but with practice I think I can get there.

At first he showed us how the rig joint works using the Cylinder.

Rig joint-practice from Ioanna Avraam on Vimeo.

After that we practice on a more detailed model that Jay made for us to use. 

Rig joint practice from Ioanna Avraam on Vimeo.

Finally we reached into the last bit, where we were given a ready model of Hulk to create a running cycle using the rig joints. It was so fun to do, I enjoyed it so much. It made me realise the difficulties of the process animators go through to animate the characters but it was worth the while.  

Hulk rig animation from Ioanna Avraam on Vimeo.

Final outcome - Hulk from Ioanna Avraam on Vimeo.

After Effects/Illustrator - Fairytale Statistics - Infographics and storytelling

In todays Process & Production session we worked in Illustrator and After effects. We had to use create data for a folk tale/Fairytale in Illustrator which later on we would use in After Effects to learn how to transition between these two pieces of datas which we had made using artboards on Illustrator, and also how to use the animation presets in After Effects for the transitions and the text animation. 
For my fairytale I chose the classic story of Beauty and the Beast. For the transition I went to the transition-wipe preset and I chose the "Iris-round" transition. Them for the letters I used the "Slow Fade in" preset. 

Fairytale Statistics - Infographics and storytelling. from Ioanna Avraam on Vimeo.

Pictures used: 

3D- Using the Camera

For this studio practice, we had to create in illustrator layers of objects so we could use them later on After Effects to learn how to precompose in 3D and the use of the camera. Also we learned how to use the Page Turn effect, which I chose not to use in my video, because I didn't know where to add it and I thought it would look better without it.
This studio was really useful, I wanted to learn how to use the camera a while now and it became very helpful for my other projects.

After Effects - Camera from Ioanna Avraam on Vimeo.

Pictures used: 

The room

Histories of Animation - Spencer Roberts Lecture

Histories of Animation

Emily Colh - Fantasmagorie, 1908

This is mostly considered to be the very first animation cartoon that is created with the stop motion photography technique.

Bruce Bickford - Prometheus Garden, 1988

This film is done with clay animation, also knows as claymation, one of many form of stop motion animation.  Each animated piece, either character or background, is "deformable"—made of a malleable substance, usually plasticine clay. It is based upon the Greek myth of Prometheus, a Titan who stole fire from the gods and made the first mortals out of clay.

Later on we see this form of animation take bigger dimensions in the animation studio of LAIKA, where they use a much higher developed technique of stop motion animation.

Technologies

ROTOSCOPE

Max Fleischer was was an American animator, inventor, film director and producer. He was responsible for a number of technological innovations including the Rotoscope. One of his most famous cartoon characters was Betty Boop, Koko the Clown, Popeye and Superman. 

Before this, it was hard to draw stable, constant, slow, life-like movements. 

Koko the Clown, 1916 - His brother Joe helped him make the machine and his other brother posed in a clown suit.

ZEOTROPE

In 1834, William George Horner proposed a more convenient device based on Plateau’s Phenakistoscope which eliminated the need for a mirror and allowed several people to view the device at one time. Horner’s idea was to take shape in the form of drum with an open top into which was placed a hand drawn sequence of pictures on a strip of paper. The pictures were placed around the inside of the edge of the drum and could be viewed through slots in the outside of the drum.

The Zeotrope allowed mass audience to participate through multiple slots. 

Contemporary 3D Zeotropes can be seen in Dinseyland - Pixar and in the Studio Ghibli museum.

CELL ANIMATION



This is an animation film created by Winsor McCay. McCay decided to animate a Dinosaur to prove that his drawings were moving. The notion of bringing a dinosaur "to life" was astonishing. Thus, in 1913 McCay began to animate "Gertie The Dinosaur". 
Without guidance, or anything but his own experience to rely on, McCay produced an astonishing piece of animation that holds up even to today's standards. McCay painstakingly animated details such as particles of dirt falling, and water dripping. He gave Gertie personality and emotions. We see her eating, drinking, playing, and even crying.
(source: http://vegalleries.com/gerthistory.html) 

CGI

Computer animation, or CGI animation, is the process used for generating animated images.

The most modern form animation used by the most well known animation companies such as Pixar, Disney, Dreamworks and so on. CGI gives you a more realistic feel of the animation since the characters are looking more alive and real and it has more realistic and detailed backgrounds.

Final Animation

Animation collide-Final from Ioanna Avraam on Vimeo.