I animated this over spring break as an application of what I learned, and I'm starting to enjoy animation rather than hate it now. I think I've finally hit my stride.
Big Iron
Even though animating full figures for this was a very instructive experience, I don't think I'm going to go through the pain of doing it again for a very long time.
After the Presentations
It is a bittersweet day, now knowing I don't have to do this project anymore. Even though I plan to seriously pursue animation now, not having the excuse to work on it as a project is a bummer. I'll have to slot it into my free time now, which makes it less appealing, but since I've actually gotten good enough to do some basic things with it, I'm fine with devoting my free time to it. The presentation itself was okay, and I think I got a higher grade than I probably should have, but I'm not going to complain about it. I stuttered somewhat and got a little lost in the middle of it, but it got out okay and I'm proud with what I had animated for it.
I think I'm going to turn my back on this blog afterwards, since it's not really my style, but I think maybe I could move on to posting flicks on something like Youtube. Even though I know I'm not gonna make it to the big league animators on Youtube, it's still sort of cool to share what you've done, no matter what it is.
It's sort of weird looking back on the goals I set and failed to achieve, like learning the 12 principles of animation. Even though I didn't go through all of them, I think that I applied them in my animation in one way or another already, if that makes sense. Sort of like a puzzle, once you get the frame done, you can tell what pieces need to go into the last few spots to complete it, and I just filled in the portions by myself.
In the end, I hope this blog helped spark some interest in animation, if at all, and at least make people more open about the art form. Animation has been slowly falling out of modern media, not being as popular as it used to be in western regions, which means that it hasn't exactly grown much in places like America. I hope that maybe it can resurface soon, since a lot of the most meaningful animatics have been forgotten, since they've been created decades ago. Animation's ability to convey themes and messages is arguably its most unique aspect, since it is a medium more real than stories or movies. Actors fake their emotions and reactions, while books are left up to the reader to imagine, but animation gives you a window to look into another living world.
Maybe I'm being too pretentious, but I honestly believe in animation being special like that.
Arrivederci!
