Assignments

We will be doing animation experiments in class and for homework. Assignment due dates will be announced at the beginning of each assignment.

 

Assignment 1   DUE Jan 17 (Tuesday)

  1. Spend LESS than 1 hour creating a test “ugly” flipbook. Use standard index card paper and make SOMETHING. (consider how will you bind the paper together).
  2. Spend just ONE HOUR creating a test “ugly” flipbook. The theme is MORPH.  Use standard index card paper and make SOMETHING.                                            An  “UGLY” means the first technical experiment of an idea).
  3. Create a short video capture of it. IT might take a couple of attempts. You might need a partner!

  4. Download the Illusions of Life here

    Download the Animators Survival Kit here

Assignment 2  DUE Jan 21 (Tuesday)

DUE  Create a new Flipbook using one of your ideas from the QUESTION THE PREMISE exercise.  It does not have to work, but you will film the final result.  See how highly crafted you can make it.  Please place it in the GOOGLE DRIVE ADN 319 Spring 2023.

  1. Using the “Question the Premise” approach, list a 10 (or more) creative flipbook ideas in your notebook. be ready to pitch/present the ideas to the  class
  2. NEXT, do some research and post some of the inspirational sites you found.
  3. FINALLY, make one of your creative flipbook ideas!

Here is the list of what a stereotype flipbook “is” to most people. Your job is to go through the ENTIRE list and come up with ideas that question each statement.

A FLIPBOOK IS…

Assignment 3   DUE Jan 28 (Tuesday)

1a.  Static and kinetic imagery are related! Let’s do some basic research on static image processing by the human brain. We’ll start with GESTALT. You may have done this once (or TWICE) but the fundamentals are the fundamentals and it is ALWAYS good to revisit them from time to time.

Research

  • What is the history of GESTALT?
  • What is visual gestalt?
  • What does gestalt mean in German?
  • Compare the concepts of Persistence of Vision to the PHI Phenomenon.  Make notes in your drawing book.
  • Spend some time with the links in the  “Inspirational” section related to Sept 1.

Then create a poster 

  • What are the principles of visual gestalt? Show visual examples in your drawing notebook.
  • Do you think there are there any static image principles that might have a direct relationship to kinetic image grouping?
  • Create a PDF that COULD be printed out as a poster for a middle school audience (design literacy) and turn that into Google drive.

_______________________________________________________________________________________

 

Assignment 4  DUE FEB 7 (Tuesday)

Motion Studies and Concept Development.

Create 2 motion studies (Photoshop).

  1. On  16 frames (or more) create the flight path of a falling leaf.  Create a guide path and mark where the keyframes will be.
  2. Create a bouncing ball.  Create a guide path and mark where the keyframes will be. Apply squash and stretch to the ball.
  3. Export them as Looping gif animations here. 
  4.  Place them in the Google folder (Assignment 4)

Assignment 5 rough DUE September 22 (Thursday)  3 week assignment

Create an explainer video.

See DELISH (and other sites) to see examples of a recipe explainer video.

 

FOR THURSDAY

  1. Begin brainstorming in your drawing book
  2. Do rough storyboards in your notebook
  3. Scan your storyboards in to pitch them on Tuesday
  4. Google drive  “Assignment 5/Pitch”

For TUESDAY Sept 27th

  1. Create revised FINAL storyboards (on photoshop, cards on sticky notes) for you PSA.
  2. Create FINAL style page (look and feel of a single frame). Create with the software or physical technique you plan to use
  3. Include each graphic stages of the PSA
  4. Place your final PDF in   GOOGLE Drive/ Assignment 5/(final storyboard pitch)

For THURSDAY Sept 29th

  1. Try to have all graphics created for Thursday. 
  2. Find a working soundtrack
  3. We will work in class to create an ANIMATIC with the graphics during class

For TUESDAY Oct  4th

  1. Create an “Ugly”  out of your animatic made in class.  First motion tests…
  2. Study LinkedIn learning   “Intro to After Effects 2022”  Watch the first Chapter on Shape Layers
  3. Read this Atlantic Article on Early Animation

For THURSDAY Oct  6th

  1. Final Animation (with sound)
  2. Research “synthesia”. How does it relate to animation, Can you post any examples?
  3. Study Shape layers in After Effects 
  4. Have an example of an UGLY shape layer animation

For Thursday Oct 13  (mid-semester review)

  1. Please copy (download and rename) the folder called “My Template Name” in the Mid-semester review folder in our Google drive. Populate it with work by reviewing each assignment (above) and placing the work in the appropriate assignment folder.  Remember, these are “experiments” so don’t worry about the quality- BUT, you must have some UGLYs to turn in for each step of each assignment. 
  2. In your drawing book, see if you can notice 3 examples of good design and 3 examples of design that could be improved.  Maybe take photos of what you notice. This is NOT an assignment but something to keep you thinking about design (we are surrounded by design!) while you are on break! 
  3. Enjoy your break!

For Tuesday, Oct 18  (Due Oct 27)

  1. We will be creating a 30 sec. “Visual Music” experiment
  2. Bring 2 or 3 music candidates to class on Tuesday
  3. Experiment with some “Uglies” to get more comfortable with shape layers
  4. SPECS:  30 seconds, 30 fps, 1920 by 1080.
  5. Watch this Lynda Intro to After Effects tutorial

For Tuesday, Oct 25  (Due Oct 27)

  1. Be prepared to show your 30 sec ugly at the beginning of class (to get feedback)

For Tuesday, Nov 1

  1. Have a FINISHED “Visual Music” 30 piece ready to show off!
  2. Have 3 IDIOMs  (with historical origins) prepared. Please present them via the IDIOM folder in the Google Drive.

For Tuesday, Nov 8   

Explainer videos

  1. Create an inspirational moodboard (or here) for your animation that will give the client an aesthetic idea of what look/style for your explainer video on IDIOMS.
  2. Create storyboards for what will be seen and said in 30 seconds (more or less).  Write Script.  Include camera movement notes. There will be a narrator for this series, so your voice (or voice actor) will work as a “working” voice.  Convert those storyboards to a digital PDF.
  3. Study these linked in After Effects tutorials on 3D space and cameras  here (chapter 6) and here (chapter 5)
  4. Finish watching the 12 principles of Animation (explainer video)
  5. Best of Explainer videos 

For Tuesday, Nov 15  (finished version due the 17th!)   

  1. Create an animatic with sound
  2. Creat ALL assets for the animation before beginning the animation
  3. Create 5 FINISHED seconds of the animation (with sound).  This will show us that you have the process down!

For Tuesday, Nov 22  (finished version due the 17th!)   

  1. Create animation with sound (see how close you can to get to “finished”!)

For Tuesday, Nov 29  (finished version due the 17th!)   

  1. Create finished animation with sound

 

 

Assignment 8.5 ( TBA)

UGLY animatic/motion test  Music/sound included. All assets created and organized.

Assignment 3.3 (practice animation “synesthesia“) Due Thursday, 

Animate shape layers from an Illustrator file in After Effects. Use a soundtrack.  See if you can get the shapes to have some sort of coordination with the music. 15 seconds or more..

Thinks about animating the COMP (group) as well as LAYERS in the group. This is an “UGLY”  exercise to get us working in and rendering in AE.  Place your final film (not the suitcase) in

the UGLY folder in the Synesthesia folder.

Watch this Lynda Intro to After Effects tutorial

Simple marker construction video here

History of VISUAL MUSIC here

Assignment 8 

FYI- The line for the Festival is here

Final Design Boards.  Music/sound selected. All assets created and organized.  Create a rough Animatic. Create null camera rig

Download the Illusions of Life here

Download the Animators Survival Kit here

Assignment 8 (April 15)

Final Design Boards.  Music/sound selected. All assets created and organized.  Create a rough Animatic. Create null camera rig

Assignment 7 (April 8)

Tutorials

Animating a SHAPE along a path here

1.Basic expressions (loopOut() tutorial here

2. Good source for other basic expressions here

3. After Effects HELP menu for EXPRESSION REFFERENCE

 

Tuesday Uglies (visual and motion tests for flowers)

Create 1 Styleframe (moment in time + final look) and the complete Design Board plan for this RECONNECT project animation.

 

Assignment 6 

1.Create a static field of flowers in a COMP. Make sure this comps COMPOSITION SIZE is larger than the main (mother) comp.

Create the flower using the REPEATER operator.

To be more precise, create the number of the flowers PETALS (in a circle) with the REPEATER.  You will then duplicate that layer (layer duplicate) and change the look and feel of the flowers appearance.

Create (5 or so) original flowers.  No animation needed but anything you do will be nice.

Animating objects and text on a path here and here

Disregard any expressions, just do the basic path animation.

 

Make some uglies for practice. Put them in Google Drive/ Assignment 6 FLOWER POWER/UGLY

2. On thursday in class, we will begin to ANIMATE the flowers.

Tutorial on Masking here and here

3. Have a number of ideas (in the form of tumbnails that might serve the theme RECONNECT. See if you can use the idea of Spring or Fireworks in your ideas (repeater happy).

 

Assignment 5 Due March 30 

Exercise week! Only technical demos due this week. Make some uglies for practice. Put them in Flower POWER

Here are some links to study and practice with!

LYNDA.COM overview for Shape layers here

  1. shape layers and paths   here                            Advanced here
  2. masking here
  3.  here trim paths  here            
  4. track mattes  and  writing reveal here       and here
  5. Source or FREE vecto rmedia for motion graphics here
  6. REPEATER tool demos  here   here           
  7.  LoopOut(“Cycle”)  intro to  expressions here

Assignment 4 (Saul Bass Movie Trailer)  Hard DEADLINE Due TUesday March 23 (beginning of class)

 

Intro to Text animation

For new ways to animate After Effects Text click here

Easy and effective TRACKING for text animation here

(Non Preset) advanced animation here

 

Things  dueTuesday 

  1. Add music to your animatic “ugly” (even if you plan to switch it out later)
  2. Swap After Effects Text in for the imported Illustrator text (you will be happy you did).
  3. Create lights in your set. Include point lights and an ambient light
  4. Move the camera with a parented NULL Object (layer/new/Null)
  5. Create a quicktime movie and put it in the folder “animatics” on google drive.

Things due on THursday 

  1. Build layered isometric sets in Illustrator. Make the Art Board much bigger than 1920 by 1080 (your AE movie size). Create a empty box to use as your test frame to help with the storyboard.
  2. Include text in the Illustrator file. Title, director and 3 actors (any order).
  3. Make a storyboard that shows the camera movement and visual plan.
  4. Create an UGLY motion test quicktime with a NULL and camera rig
  5. Put all in a folder in Google drive Assignment 4 (movie trailer)/ styleboards/Illustrator plan

BASIC NULL CAMERA here

BASIC LIGHTING here

 

Download this AE Camera (Flexcam) here.  It says “pay what you want” but the suggested price is 5 bucks (go ahead and pay it?) . It will increase the ease and quality of your work a bunch!

Create a movie trailer in After Effects (1 Minute?). Watch the opening (by Saul Bass)  of Hitchcock’s “North by Northwest” as inspiration. You must have (at least) 2 camera cuts.

History of movetrailers/Saul Bass (5 min) here

History of isometric drawing here

Music is in the free music.org folder in the Google Drive (feel free to choose your own as well)

For a nice introduction to cameras in After Effects click here

THE LONG ROAD to import TEXT into After Effects here.

 

Discription of Motion Design here

 

BRIEF: Film title-  Viewmaster

(Mystery/murder/suspense)

Feeling- anxious, dramatic, sharp violins. The camera moves to different places on the isometric grid to introduce the title, director, and 3 actors. Fade to black music ends.

 

Due next thursday 

  1. Create an Illustrator doc that is 1920 by 1080 px  (that is a 16/9 aspect ratio) the tutorial is here
  2. Create Storyboard for trailer
  3. Watch this intro to After Effects Lynda series.
  4. Practice doing simple tweens/keyframes in After Effects

Isometric Grid tutorials here and here    (SSR technique)  

non-video demo here

Illustrator 3D extrude method here

 

Assignment 4 (Me to We) 

Create a GIF animation that is a public service announcement from the State of North Carolina to the population related to COVID safety practices.

The client has a phrase they would like to use.  “Me to We).  Create a looping short 8 sec (or so) that conveys your message.and has a mask in it at some point.  Extra credit- add sound. You can add “loop forever”  when you save your animation to a GIFF format.

Show in progress Uglies on Tuesday in class.

 

  1.  

DUE THURSDAY  JAN 2

Hi Folks- Here is the assignment due this THURSDAY JAN 28

 

  1. Spend LESS than 2 hours creating a test “ugly” flipbook. Use standard index card paper and make SOMETHING.
  2. Question the Premise (creative process).
  3. NEXT, do some research and post some of the inspirational sites you found.

Here is the list of what a stereotype flipbook “is” to most people. Your job is to go through the ENTIRE list and come up with ideas that question each statement.

A FLIPBOOK IS

-on a series of stiff pieces of paper

-opaque

-flipping pages fast

-show some sort of movement

-sequence of images

-printed on one side of the paper

-handheld

-front to back

-visual phenomenon

-rectilinear paper format

-same size

-perfectly stacked in a vertical fashion

-one person experience

-one flipbook experience

-bound (somehow)

-enough pages for viewing experience

-landscape orientation

-thumb to flip

-n-eed eyes

-constant lighting source

-c-omplete sheet of paper

-less detail than drawing

-flip without pausing from beginning to end

-printed on white paper

 

Assignment 1 Due Thursday Aug 25

1a.  Static and kinetic imagery are related! Let’s do some basic research on static image processing by the human brain. We’ll start with GESTALT. You may have done this once (or TWICE) but the fundamentals are the fundamentals and it is ALWAYS good to revisit them from time to time.

 

  • What is the history of GESTALT?
  • What is visual gestalt?
  • What does gestalt mean in German?
  • What are the principles of visual gestalt? Show visual examples.
  • Are there any static principles that might have a direct relationship to kinetic image grouping?

Assignment 2 Due Tuesday Aug 30 

 

Try to consider paper and how to hold the flipbook together. Bring materials to class to finish this project.

-40 images

-must loop