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Environmental project design document 

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Final animation for my experimental motion graphics project.

Music used: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/koi-discovery/hypercube/allegory-of-a-weirdo/

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Environment project

Backgrounds: Global warming

Poaching

Deforestation

Pollution

Signs: Global warming

Poaching

Deforestation

Pollution

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Character animation test

Using one of my chosen animals I tried to animate them in Adobe After effects by recreating the image in Illustrator and using all the parts to create a puppet.  The whale didn't require much movement to give it life given that it is meant to be underwater and too much movement would take away from the sad emotions the character is showing.

This test was very useful for my project because it allows me to see what my final product could look like, and allow me to improve in my next attempts.

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Tracking objects in Adobe After effects task

We had to try out the tracking on After effects as a potential tool to use in our future projects. I used both flat and moving images and tried to make them blend in with the scene.

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Environment project

Chosen style: When looking at all the designs I have made I had to think which would be best to animate in After effects and what design I looks most appealing while not being to difficult to use.

In the end I chose the cartoon like art style inspired by ‘The Big Bad Fox and Other Tales’ since the designs looked more easier to move and make emote, their overall appearance was more unique and interesting to look at, which is what I am aiming for with the idea of marketing posters and advertisements

Chosen animals: Global warming:

Polar bear Compared to the snow leopard people are more likely to associate global warming with a polar bear. The polar bears design is more eye catching despite being a simpler design.

Poaching:

Rhino The rhinos more tougher and blocky design helps her to stand out from my other animal designs and makes the designs look more varied. I also tried the tougher look for the tiger but all the stripes ended up hiding her accessories and looks to crowded next to the other designs.  

Deforestation:

Orangutan Out of the 2 designs for deforestation I think the orangutan is more appealing and has a friendly round body type which helps to draw sympathy for the struggles the character is going through. His clothing also stands out compared to the chosen animals due to the inspiration of people who live in the islands where the orangutan is found.

Pollution:

Whale Has the most unique body type and is a very well know animal linked to the ocean, the turtle following the animals standing on 2 legs theme doesn't allow them to stand out to the degree the whale does. Because the whale only has a tail and fins it would be a lot quicker to animate them compared to my other ideas.

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Environment project

Character design P2:

Various animal designs: Polar bear:

Snow leopard:

Bengal tiger:

Black rhino:

Mountain gorilla:

Orangutan:

Sea turtle:

Whale:

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Maya MASH animation task

When testing out the MASH tool on Maya I made an animation using 2 donut shapes covered in cones. I like the imagery I was able to make by twisting the donut shape as it makes it seem like there are more than donut and cone shapes.

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Environment project

Character design P1:

Sketched research:

Style ideas:

I decided to practice different art styles that I might use for my animal characters starting with the polar bear. From left to right The Zootropolis/Zootopia inspired design is definitely the most complicated but results in a very polished and appealing design. Despite how much I like this design I feel it would be too complicated to animate without having a really complicated puppet or 3D model, due to the difficulties this design would bring up I will likely not use it.

The Big Bad Fox and Other Tales inspired design has a completely cartoony design that is very simple but fun to look at. I was able to make use of the cartoon aesthetic and mess around with certain part of the character like the hands and nose while still making it obvious that this is a polar bear. I like this design and might end up using it but that depends on what my other character designs look like.

For the final design I took some inspiration from children's book illustrations and simplified the animal as much as possible till it was mostly basic shapes like rectangles. My main focus on this style is to make all the animals use more basic shapes it can end up removing some personality from the character itself due to their plain designs. In order to decide if I will use this style I plan on drawing my other remaining animals to compare and finalise what style would work best.

Doing multiple tests to decide what my final product will look like I believe it will ultimately enhance the work and ensure its the best it can be.

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Environmental project

Research P3:

Finding clothing for the animal characters in my plan:

Snow leopard Looking at the clothing commonly worn by people walking up mountains, I also tried to look at clothing worn by the people around the mountains.

Polar bear I looked at clothing suitable for a cold Artic environment and a slight glimpse at clothing from a culture that lives in cold areas. I am drawn to the bright orange coat since it would stand out against the white fur of the polar bear.

Black rhino For both of my animals associated with poaching I needed to think of a way to show what they were suffering from and one of those ideas was having the animal be dressed in prisoners clothing and being in a cage which avoids the need to show bloody imagery. Even with the idea of the prison clothes I wanted there to be a way to show where this animal is from so I looked at accessories linked to Africa, I was drawn to the bright bracelets and necklaces and they would show up very clearly on the grey rhino skin.

Bengal tiger This animal also follows the prisoner theme of the animals effected by poaching and the way I thought to show where the tiger was from is with Indian necklaces and earrings that would stand out on the design and be easy to identify. 

Mountain gorilla When looking at research on the habitat of Mountain gorillas on the WWF website I saw that there were people who lived there so I tried to research the type of clothing that they wore and could use on the character.

Orangutan Researching clothing for the clothing for my orangutan character to wear was more challenging than the other animals as the 2 islands where you can find orangutans have completely different cultures and clothing, choosing a final outfit for the orangutan will definitely be the most difficult but the variety of cultures does give me plenty of sources to draw from.

Sea turtles & Whales Since both animals don’t have a specific location or culture associated with them (based on my research) I thought the best I could do for their outfit would be clothing worn by people working on boat. The bright high vis clothing or a hard hat would help to give the animal a bit of personality.

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Abstract 3D animation task

We had to create a 3D animation taking inspiration from existing abstract art. I tried to make my work resemble a flower and also resemble a kaleidoscope.

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Various renders using textures and HDRIs from Poly Haven (and some Arnold presets materials) Source: https://polyhaven.com/

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Environmental project

Visual inspiration P1:

When looking for inspiration for the project I looked for examples that used anthropomorphic animal designs since that what I plan to use in my final design. Looking at the various styles of each example will help me to develop the designs of my animals.

Kung Fu Panda:

Children's books: ( The Tiger Who Came to Tea, The Gruffalo, Can't you Sleep, Little Bear?)

Ernest & Celestine:

The Big Bad Fox and Other Tales:

Fantastic Mr Fox:

Zootropolis/Zootopia:

Various simple art styles:

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Environmental project

Research P2:

Animals I will likely use:

Snow leopard Location: mountain ranges of Central and South Asia Global warming: Animals that need colder temperatures may need to move higher up and this is likely to shift and shrink the snow leopard's range. Status: Listed as vulnerable

Polar bear Location: The arctic circle  Global warming: With the arctic warming up the ice that polar bears rely on begin to disappear and finding food becomes harder. Status: Listed as vulnerable

Black rhino Location: Eastern and southern Africa  Poaching: Rhinos are hunted due to demand for their horns in Asian countries for large amounts of money. Status: Critically endangered

Bengal tiger Location: Tropical forests of the Indian sub-continent Poaching: Bengal tigers are hunted for their pelts and other body parts as trophies, they are also killed if they attack livestock and are considered pests in some areas. Status: Endangered

Mountain gorilla Location: Albertine Rift montane cloud forest and the Virunga Mountains Deforestation: The deforestation causes their habitat to deteriorate and become smaller so there is less food and shelter for them. Status: Endangered

Orangutan Location: The rainforests of Borneo and Sumatra Deforestation: Their habitat is shrinking to create palm oil plantations and other agricultural plantations even in protected areas. With there being less forest there is also much less food. Status: Critically endangered

Sea turtles Location: Almost every ocean basin in the world Oil spills/pollution: Whether it be mistaking plastic for jellyfish, being caught in discarded fishing gear, hatchlings paths to be ocean being blocked by trash or poisoned from oil spills sea turtles face many risks due to pollution. Status: Endangered

Whales Location: Many species can be found in all the world's oceans Oil spills/pollution: Despite their size they can become caught in fishing nets which can lead to serious harm or death. Status:  Endangered

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Experimental shape task

First animation made in Adobe After Effects using a altered star shape.

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Environmental project

Research P1:

Environmental issues:

Pollution

Global warming

Overpopulation

Waste disposal

Ocean acidification

Loss of biodiversity

Deforestation

Ozone layer depletion

Poaching

Oil spills

Animals affected and by what: Seal - Oil spills - Global warming - Pollution - Waste disposal Sea lion - Oil spills - Pollution - Waste disposal Walrus - Oil spills Polar bear - Oil spills - Global warming Sea otter - Oil spills River otter - Oil spills Beaver - Oil spills Whale - Oil spills - Pollution - Waste disposal Dolphin - Oil spills - Pollution - Waste disposal Porpoise - Oil spills - Pollution - Waste disposal Elephant - Poaching - Deforestation - Global warming Rhino - Poaching - Deforestation Mountain gorilla - Poaching - Deforestation - Global warming Lemur - Poaching Pangolin - Poaching Snow leopard - Poaching - Global warming African grey parrot - Poaching - Deforestation Orangutan - Poaching - Deforestation Crocodile - Poaching Tiger - Poaching - Deforestation - Global warming Chimpanzee - Deforestation Giant panda - Deforestation - Global warming Pygmy sloth - Deforestation Monarch butterfly - Deforestation - Global warming Pygmy elephant - Deforestation Crab - ocean acidification - Pollution Oyster - ocean acidification Urchin - ocean acidification Cheetah - Global warming Sea turtle - Global warming - Pollution - Waste disposal Seabirds - Pollution - Oil spills Penguin - Global warming Grey wolf - Global warming Arctic fox - Global warming

Notable Animals effected by environmental issues:

Oil spills: Seabirds, seal, sea lion, walrus, dolphin, whale, otter, polar bear

Global warming: Arctic fox, grey wolf, sea turtle, giant panda, tiger, snow leopard, gorilla, elephant, polar bear, seal

Pollution: Sea birds, sea turtles, crab, dolphin, whale, seal

Ocean acidification: Crab

Deforestation: Elephant, rhino, mountain gorilla, orangutan, tiger, chimpanzee, panda, pygmy sloth

Poaching: Elephant, rhino, gorilla, snow leopard, tiger, crocodile, orangutan, African grey parrot

Top animal choices for each: Global warming:

 Artic fox

 Snow leopard

 Polar bear

 Seal

Poaching:

 Elephant

 Rhino

 Tiger

 Crocodile

Deforestation:

 Mountain gorilla

 Orangutan

 Chimpanzee

 Panda

Oil spills/pollution:

 Seal

 Seabirds

 Sea turtle

 Whale

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Planning animation based on decay and growth

Shows the development of the characters design and planning out what would happen in my animation.  Slightly based on cartoon mice like Mickey but much sharper and aggressive to make it obvious that this is a rat.