This week in Design for Animation, we learned about animated documentaries and how they combine factual storytelling with creative visuals. The class covered how animation can show real events, ideas, or feelings in ways that live action sometimes can’t. We also talked about the problems of using animation in non-fiction, like whether it makes things less real or makes it harder for the audience to connect.
I thought it was interesting that animation can make serious or abstract topics easier to understand while still conveying truth. The session showed me how animation can be both expressive and informative. Overall, it was a useful discussion that showed how design choices influence how stories about real life are told and received. He also shared some resources that we can explore about politics in animation and film. I’m also excited to discover how political themes can be applied in animated works.
This week’s class focused on experimental animation and the ideas of formative and conceptual abstraction. We watched a range of short films that explored colour, shape, rhythm, and sound instead of following a traditional story. Some were created directly on film using scratches or paint, while others used abstract movement and repetition to create a visual rhythm, almost like music.
We talked about how early artists used animation to try out new ways of expressing themselves after watching the movies. They didn’t just see movies as a source of entertainment; they also saw them as a way to be creative and experiment. I thought it was interesting how much emotion and meaning could be shown without words or people—just through movement, sound, and timing.
We also talked about how these early experiments changed animation today and how technology keeps giving artists new tools to use. In general, the class helped me understand that animation is more than just telling a story. It made me think about how shape, rhythm, and visual structure can convey ideas on their own, which is something I want to learn more about in my own work.
This week we focused on the materials. We saw how we can create a material both manually and automatically by using a surface/texture asset by simply matching the asset with the material properties. We experimented with different material types by using and manipulating different parameters on the Material Graph. We created a basic material, a glass material, a light material and a tile material by importing a surface asset.
I also had a chance to talk about my ideas for the project with Serra. I am planning to do a first-person cinematic exploration but couldn’t decide on the shots and the camera sequence. She gave me very useful feedback on that. Now I’m still in the research process, trying to create a storyline and storyboard. To build a solid foundation for the project and to better visualize the story, I generated storyboard shot images. This helped me shape the idea and see how it could evolve visually.
Last week I had finalized my pendulum animation with the offset applied. This week we received the final feedback on it and George didn’t give any notes, which meant the animation was accurate and well executed, a very satisfying result for me.
Also George gave the first critiques on our ball with tail animations specifically on the tail movement. With the notes he gave me, I was able to fix it and make the motion look more natural and consistent. Here’s the final result with the improvements:
Overall, I can see a significant progress in controlling the movement and refining the details that make an animation feel alive. I am really excited for the upcoming assignments.
with Ting
This week we started by reviewing the juicebox acting blocking animations. The creativity in everyone’s animations really inspired me to push my own work further. So after getting feedback I decided to restart my acting animation to give more personality to the juiceboxes.
During the class Ting showed us how to “polish” our blocking animations. The polishing process is all about focusing on the details and refining each frame until it feels smooth and cohesive. Right now I’m in the polishing phase to make the animation smoother. Here’s the updated version of my juicebox acting animation.
Also we reviewed and critiqued the sad/regret poses. While reviewing them we talked about using the right controllers while posing and also the difference between IK and FK. In short it is best to use IK when in contact with surfaces and to use FK when you’re doing free movement.
Ting’s overall feedback about the poses was to start with three poses and then invent a fourth that pushed our creativity and helped us think outside the box because our works were very similar. To accomplish that, for this week’s golden pose assignment we will be creating 3 poses with real life references representing different emotions. I’ll be sharing my references for this assignment.
The main focus of this week was Unreal Engine’s Level Sequencer and cinematics. While discovering it, I noticed that it is very similar to the Timeline and Graph Editor in Maya, which made it easier to understand. We were told to recreate a scene from a movie, so we completed our first animation. I chose to recreate the first scene of Frozen.
I also successfully used the FAB for the first time. I imported the assets and characters needed for the scene and was able to position, animate, and adjust them within the Sequencer. It was wonderful to watch everything come together in a cinematic scene, and it helped me better understand how Unreal handles animation and camera work.
We also discussed our ideas for the final project with Serra. I have a few ideas about the concept and aesthetics. Now I’m in the research phase, collecting inspiration images and trying to build a storyline and a storyboard to discuss it with Serra next week. I’m going to share some of the scenery ideas I have at the moment.
This week, we talked about how to create stories and how editing and character design help bring them to life. Our main topics were narrative structure, character development, and film editing.
We started off with narrative structure, which is basically how a story is created from beginning to end. We also covered the Five-Act Structure and how every story moves through balance, conflict, and resolution. I found it really interesting that even small details, like adding a new challenge or a side story, can make a big change in keeping the audience engaged. I also realized how important it is to plan each scene thoughtfully so the story flows naturally.
Next, we went onto character development. We learned that strong character design drive the story forward. Heroes, villains, and side characters all have different roles, and their decisions shape the direction of the plot. We looked at examples of several character types and discussed how their objectives, emotions, and changes help them feel authentic. What struck me the most was how much the ending depends on the characters – a well-written conclusion may keep readers pondering long after the narrative has ended.
Finally we discussed editing. Editing is more than just combining clips together; it is also about managing rhythm, time, and emotion. We learnt about continuity editing, which makes a film appear smooth and natural, and montage editing, which can create surprises or emotional effects. I find it really interesting how editing can make time appear to be continuous even when it is not. The “invisible” nature of editing, or making cuts that the viewer does not see, demonstrated the strength of this art form.
Overall, this week taught me how storytelling, characters, and editing work together to bring a story to life. I’ve started watching movies differently recently, focusing on how they’re made rather than just what they depict. I feel like I now have a greater understanding of narrative and can apply what I’ve learned to make my own efforts more creative and meaningful.
This week began with a feedback session focused mainly on our pendulum and bouncing ball animations. Based on the feedback, I made a few small adjustments to the squash and stretch, as well as the rotation. For the pendulum, I was told that my animation didn’t look very natural because I hadn’t applied the offsetting technique George mentioned last week. Once I implemented it, I realised how much of a difference it made. However, we were also reminded not to rely too heavily on this method, as it’s just a quick and convenient solution depending on the project. I’m sharing both versions below — with and without the offsetting applied.
before Offsettingafter Offsetting
After the feedback session, we talked about one of the 12 animation principles, anticipation. Anticipation is the preparation for an action to give the audience a clue as to what is happening next to make the action more realistic. I think it can be best explained with the example of throwing a punch. You don’t just punch someone straight from your chest — you first pull your arm back and stretch your body backward before delivering the hit. In fact, this backward stretch can even be exaggerated to emphasize the power of the punch and show how angry or intense the character is.
Finally, we received our new assignment for the week — the jumping ball with a tail. George shared a few reference videos with us, which I used while planning my animation, along with some additional references I found on my own. I feel like I’m getting better at planning my projects, thanks to the 2D animation tool I discovered.
planning for the ball with tail
While working on the ball with tail animation, I used the motion trail tool I discovered last week, which turned out to be very helpful. It allowed me to clearly see the path of the ball’s movement and adjust the spacing and arcs more precisely, making the overall animation smoother.
initial version of ball with tail
with Ting
This week, we started by reviewing some of the juicebox animations we worked on last week and gave each other feedback. Some animations had issues with timing and spacing, while others had problems with the arcs. The main objective of the juicebox assignment was to clearly communicate the weight of both juiceboxes by adjusting the timing and spacing.
Following the critiques, we discussed acting in animation. This is best described as acting is reacting. In animation, a character’s movements involve more than just completing actions; they are also about reacting to what is going on around them. Every movement, pause, or emotion should feel like a response to an external force, another character, or an internal drive.
A character’s actions represent their personality, and each movement should portray that characteristics. Between all of these reactions, the animation should appear to be breathing, complete with realistic pauses and timing. Every movement is the consequence of deliberate decision-making, which gives the performance meaning and clarity.
For the next assignment, we had to give character to our juiceboxes. I reviewed the key elements we had discussed and then began working on the assignment. I decided on a goal: a race. The full juicebox’s goal is to land before the empty one. The scene begins with a look between the two, checking if the other one started to fall. Right after landing, the full box looks at the empty one, realizes it made it first, and then jumps to express its joy.
The objective is to land first.
The full juicebox has a competitive personality.
By looking at each other, they show that they are considering the right moment to let themselves fall in order to land first.
juicebox fall with acting
For exercising the golden pose, we had a sad or regretful golden pose assignment. I started off with a reference pose but then I improvised to experiment with the rig. Here is the reference I used and the pose I did:
This week we received feedback on our bouncing ball animation we did last week. Turns out I messed up the arcs. But thanks to that I found out about a tool called Motion Trail on Maya which is really useful in order to follow along your planning for the project.
For our next assignment due next week, the pendulum, we first went over the overlap terminologies: Follow-through, Successive Breaking of Joints, Drag, Lead and Follow.
Before I started on the planning, I looked into the Animators Survival Kit about the subject. I used some of the drawings from the book as references, as well as the reference video George shared with us.
Animator’s Survival Kit
I also discovered a 2D animation app to use for my plannings. Here’s my planning for the pendulum.
2D Animation of pendulum planning
with Ting
This week, we made up for the class we couldn’t do last week as well as this week’s class. The main topic was the golden poses. We began by understanding what a golden pose consists of. A golden pose consists of a clear line of action, a readable silhouette, balanced weight, strong appeal, as well as exaggeration and asymmetry. It should express the character’s emotion and intention in the most effective and visually engaging way.
To practice, Ting asked us to analyze the golden poses in a clip from an animation. For this assignment, I chose my favourite animation movie: Inside Out. Here’s the clip I analyzed.
Inside Out Golden Poses Clip
I analyzed Joy’s movements frame by frame, which helped me gain a clearer understanding of the key elements that make up a golden pose.
Another assignment involved posing a body rig. I will be sharing my pose as a silhouette to see if readers can guess what action it’s performing.
We also got feedback on these assignments this week. She told me to push the pose more (exaggerate). That’s what I’ll be doing for next week’s pose. As a small hint, I’m sharing the reference I found for an angry pose.
We also covered weight in animation, along with timing and spacing, which I applied to the pendulum animation for George’s assignment.
In our Unreal Engine lesson, we spent time exploring the interface and getting familiar with the different tools and panels. We also discussed the layers of worldbuilding, learning how each layer contributes to creating a detailed and immersive environment. After that, we got some hands-on practice and created our first interactions within the engine.
At first, everything felt a bit overwhelming and complex, but I’m confident that with more practice, I’ll become more comfortable and efficient using Unreal Engine.
Among all the introductions, this class caught my curiosity the most because, instead of software, it focused on the theoretical side: film language, narration, and research. This week’s class focused on how to develop a research topic and to write a critical report, which will form part of our final assignment.
For me, this class might be the one that connects theory with practice the most. I imagine it will push me out of my comfort zone, but in a way that will enrich my approach to creativity. But I also anticipate it will be challenging, especially since I’m not used to producing essay-style reports in a non-native language. I’m sure, however, it will provide valuable skills for my future work.
