Joel Clough: Digital Skills Development

Career Path:

   I won’t give you an overheard cliché such as, ‘Ever since I was a little boy…’ It wasn’t until I was 18 years old that I began showing a serious interest in Animation and the process behind it. However, I have always been curious at what makes a successful character; what it is about them that appeal to the audience and carry them to eventually being iconic. I’ve always enjoyed designing characters and developing them into something much more. That feeling that it is mine, that in some way I can relate to it, and so my goal is to one day see my character up on the big screen or on the TV and watch as it becomes a child’s favourite. This isn’t so I can then gloat, but so I can say to myself that I made it and that I gave that to someone else.

   For this reason I hope to be a successful Character Designer and Story boarder in the future.  In addition, I would also like to do some freelance 2D Animating, where I might be able to add my own drawing style to a film, series etc. and bring my designs to life.

Skills:

   During this project I hope to master my shortcomings in digital painting. I look forward at using different media and line work techniques to create new and exciting pieces. To learn what works and when to say it’s finished and needs no more additions/alterations. I will also enjoy painting layouts and scenes in which to place my characters. It will be fulfilling to build new environments and invite others into my imagination. To further develop my skills I shall use reference art books and online tutorials which should aid me when find that I am unsure. In addition, I will of course practice and apply 2D Animation including walk cycles and other various movements, lip syncs, and reactions to scenarios. This will give my character a sense of life and personality.

Software:

   To ensure my works is the best it can possibly be, I shall use a variety of software’s at my disposal. For example the most obvious choice to paint with will be Adobe Photoshop; using this software will give me a wide range of brush types and effects necessary to achieve nicely polished artwork. From here I can also choose to create frames ready for use in 2D animation. However if I wanted to get a nice, sketched out pencil effect, I should work with the user-friendly Autodesk Sketchbook Pro. If I’m able, I would also like to try using a Lightbox. With this I can produce fine hand drawings and possibly a more fluid animation.

   For Animating purposes I shall primarily use Adobe Flash. This way I will be able to get a solid and clear animation. I can then take it into Adobe After Effects and Adobe Premiere Pro to finalize it and add features and effects that I would otherwise be unable to create. Through these software types, I hope to produce finely polished drawings and smooth Animation.

Demo Reel:

   The end result of this project will of course be to produce a show reel. With this I will present my work and discuss the development process that led me to my finished production. Using slides and transitions, along with live streams, the audience will clearly see how my work changed, developed and came to life. It will begin with my initial concepts and sketches, leading on to my colour pallets and developed designs. From there the audience will see my finalized digital paintings and how I integrated them into a scene/scenario.

When this project is over, I hope to have a clean, impacting presentation of my journey and that someone comes away having genuinely enjoyed watching it, maybe even taken some inspiration for their next piece of work.