Studio 1 - Week 7 Folio Plan

1. Rationale: Intention

My animation is narrating a short story with a plot that centers on the fear of a little girl - Ophelia. In folio 2, I hope to be able to delve deeper into the specifics of this 2D animation. The story is based on a classmate of mine from elementary school, and I constructed the story based on my understanding of some of his actions. The original thought of this animation was to depict the world through the view of the autistic child. I'm hoping it will increase people's awareness and understanding of children's unusual behaviors and emotions. However, this is my first animation project, I'd like to focus more on making the animation as comprehensive and complete as possible. The second goal is to make sure that the audience could understand the theme I'm trying to portray as much as possible.

2. Context: Field

Some thoughts include how to make the image more aesthetically beautiful while demonstrating the differences in painting styles, and how to transform the boy into a monster smoothly. The character's personality is at the core of this story, and how to better depict the character's personality is crucial. Because this is one of Ophelia's core characters, one of the most important is how to better transition between imagination and reality. These are some parts where I will focus on. 

Then, to get inspiration and animation methods, I'll continue to watch the youtube channels of some talented and experienced 2D animators. Howard Wimshurst's animation tutorials and production concepts are some of my favorites and they helped me a lot. His youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/HowardWimshurst

3. Method

Because I've already completed a rough animatic, the next step will be to fine-tune the content and details. For example, the camera, the movement of the characters, the screen switching, and so on. I'll start by drawing the entire animation and then improve and adjust it so that I can select which portions may be changed and which can be left alone based on the time constraints. Ensure that I can improve the animation to the best as I can within the time constraints.

4. Production: Tools

Toon Boom Harmony/ After Effects/ Photoshop/ Procreate/ Premiere

W7: Character movement/ emotion practice

W8: Animation rough sketches

W9-10: Animated and adding some light and shadow effects

W11: Adjusting and refining animations (camera character movement)/ Increase the smoothness of the animation effect

W12: Optimized sound effects and background music

5. Outcome

A finished 2D animation.