Aboriginal Youth Animation Project week 3 & 4

Today is pay day, so we are wrapping up week 3 & 4 of the Aboriginal Youth Animation Project.
We began the week with our first group project where we created a metamorphosis film together.

We discussed the variety of possibilities with this technique as well as how to easily breakdown the phases of drawing. Each student does a drawing which metamorphoses into the next in a our ani-jam.

Here is the chart of the planned animation. Below I show the frames side by each so that the sense of time becomes tangible. Having 12 sheets of paper that are photographed for 2 exposures each really helps make the amount of drawing needed for animation a reality in physical space.

We then created our own field guides by drawing on acetate to use under our animations. This helps us all work to the same aspect ratio and size for our projects and to help line up the artwork under the camera. Guides cost too much t buy but are super easy and cheap to make.

I taught the first fundamental of animation which is the squash and stretch. I get the students to create cut out self portraits in which to experiments with the spacing and timing under the camera. Then they pair up and have head bounce battles with the various techniques they have learned to see what thee can make happen.

 The participants move on to creating a ball bounce using the proper planning technique, first drawing a trajectory then figuring out the spacing and the timing on one sheet. Later they will transfer the plan onto individual sheets and pencil test it. Following that they will correct the timing and anything else that isn't working. Afterward, they will have a solid plan and a tested example in which they can then turn it into a bouncing character animation.

On with the show.