Major: Havens - Reflective Statement

Following the minor submission I felt confident going forwards with the major project and with the idea of making my first complete animation. The major project was to consist of finishing my models, rigging, animating, lighting, rendering, collaborations and post production.

I felt like I was able to understand maya a lot better this year as I explored parts that I hadn't previously needed within my own work such a nHair and dynamics. With the dynamics I learnt how the nucleus affected the nature of the scene by adding wind and a gravitational direction. Modelling the sets and creating their textures was also a good experience as it allowed me to understand and create various texture which suited to each environment.  I felt as though I managed the project well and kept in time with the course timeline so that everything was completed by the hand in and also with planned time to correct any problems that may have occurred in the rendering process. Rendering for me was successful, I only had to correct 2-3 camera shots which had minor issues of not lining up with the next shot. Putting the film together and exploring the effects and settings -which were available to me- enabled me to really get into putting the film together as to how I imagined it. I was really happy with the outcome of post production as it wasn't one of my strengths but I believe I produced something that I am more than happy with.

I found collaborating with other artists was very beneficial to the project and also gave me the opportunity to collaborate with someone for the first time. The music really pulled together the animation and I gave the composer a complete free reign as I trusted his talent and skill, I knew that he would come back with something very suitable with the given description I provided him. Voice actors were also a huge part of the animation, with 3 different stories and 3 different dialects I needed to find unique people which portrayed those who had originally told me the story - It was difficult but it was done. Although if I had the chance to go back in this project, I would try again to find another (third) voice over for "The Three Trees". Cutting the music up and placing it across the animation was something thatI enjoyed as I loved seeing how these pieces of music matched so well which the camera movements and shots.

The Art Of was an important part to me, the image of the art of had to reflect the stories and the feelings. I went for something that was bold but also subtle - grey and cream, not black and white. Putting together the Art Of was really enjoyable as it allowed me to see my journey throughout my third year and how far I had come. Personally I see it as something which holds my best work at university from everything to the graphics of the Art Of and titles to the models and the technical areas of them. I feel as though my Art Of was a really strong point in this project for me, similar to that of "The Three Trees" model and animation scene. I think If I went back through the project I could find a few pieces of content which may have been missed to add into the Art Of.

However, I became very occupied with the project and getting things ready that I did neglect to post on the blog - however I made sure to frequently talk with the tutors and ask for advice. I also kept a record of everything I did on the projects journey so that it could be placed into the Art Of for the hand in and for a step by step and demonstration of the project overall.

If I were to go back and redo this project I wouldn't change much. I think I would experiment a little more with the textures in regards to snow and the 'feel' of them, also the texture of natural substances such as grass and dirt. Also the addition of atmospheric animation could benefit it quite well - such as leaves moving in the wind, snow falling and also weather changes for example. 

From this project I have learnt that I really love designing and graphics, I also really enjoyed modelling these scenes - however rigging, lighting and animation were a bit of a challenge at the first step but they soon became easier - and the Idea of being a 3D/environment artist really interests me as I feel like I have a lot of potential there. I am going forwards to try to pursue careers in either 3D or graphics, but either way this project and course has really helped me find out and make up my mind about my future choices.