Major project: Short Animation

 For the major project, I will be focusing on the animation trailer of the character, a short introduction of what the character is going to be and the scenario it will be placed in. In animation it is always fun to experiment different styles of story writing and how an individual can narrate the story from either first or thrid person perspective. But for the case of a short trailer, which I am thinking of creating it around 2 to 3 minutes, it needs to be brief but just informative enough that it gets the viewers attention and find the hook in the story and the characters themselves. I will be discussing the importance of a movie or a series trailer and then the character that will star in this concept trailer, I will also discuss about the software that I will be using to create this short animation.

 Trailer plays just as important part as the series or the movie that is representing, according to Journal of Retailing and Consumer Service 2012, 'If a film triumps in its opening week, a good trailer will have played a significant role in its success.' A trailer can consists of multiple variables such as good movie effects, sound composition and appearances of high profile actors and actresses. However, in a trailer, its sole purpose is to attract the audience about the current scenes it is displaying, not necessarily telling much about the story itself. That is where the movie or the series plays its part. 'Movie previews, or trailers are the most widely used method of movie advertising in the prerelease period. They are typically one to three minutes long, and show scenes from the movie with the purpose of building expectations before its release in theatres.' (Eastman et al. 1985; Wasko 2004).

  The character in my major project will be called Ria, also known as Queen. I will be first breaking her appearance down and what software I used to draw the character. I first made a quick sketch of the female body template to visualize the character, then I started to ink down how the character would look like.

 The design takes two major inspirations, Alita from Alita, Battle Angel and Motoko from Ghost in the Shell. Alita's reference is for the clothing design while Motoko's reference is for the body physique. With these two ideas, Ria's design is minimalist but also modern, the gold plating, orange hair and the tattoo on her left arm signifies the bold presence of the character. To contrast the high colours, the cape and the skin tight clothing is coloured black. And finally, the chest has a shiny surface to signify a body armour like piece. That serves as a protection from debris so therefore it serves a purpose.

 

 I have also made a seperate drawing for Ria's facial expression to take references when it comes to animating, it is very important to keep the source next to the working space to make sure the animation is consistent and no detail is missed when each frame is drawn.

 Finally, the software that I will be using to create this short animation is Callipeg on iPad Pro. Callipeg is a simple to use animation software that consists of a timeline and a layering system to create short animations with up to 24 frames per second. My goal here is to create the animation with this app and also work around with making background art as well as secondary characters as well. However the concept drawing for Rai and other characters that will follow will be done on IbisPaint X. 

 Hopefully this brief summary about character and short animation topic should provide enough details on my portfolio project. As it is a 2 to 3 minutes long, much of the emphasis will be given on the action and the situation happening in that time period. Hopefully this project should be fun and I am looking forward to making it.