The Final Western Animation

My Actual Actual FINAL animation I am so pleased with because with all the stress and all the drama payed off because in the end I did enjoy making it. This module has really opened my eyes to how preparation and organisation is key. From the beginning I had a plan for each week and what had to be done so that I didn't leave it all till the last minute as I have done In other modules. I new that I was going to have difficulty with after effects but with the two drop in days I had the support I needed and I am slowly getting used to it. I have learnt so much from this module from the basic to the complicated and have a belief in my self that I can push myself to create good things. If I was to do it all over again I would make it longer and maybe add a gun shot and some smoke and maybe change the music. I think my animation works well because you can see the effort and work that has gone into it.

A Nearly Finished Final Piece

This is my animation almost finished with the audio missing and the end not being how I wanted it I want something that will really hit home that it is a Western. I have used after effects to change the colour of the video as the camera I used made it difficult to have everything the same. I have also cut everything so that it is a complete animation not two seperate ones using the time line. I also used opacity, graph editor, parenting, colour correction and colur stabilizer and a lot of other things.

The Original Stop Motion Films Before After Effects

My Original stop motion animation the first one hasn't uploaded very well I don't no why though What I shot in the first sequence was a bit to much like a theatre there wasn't enough diffrernt angles and view points so I went back into the stop motion room.

I was more precise with angles and was following my storyboard which I sidlined a lot in the first film and with me integrating them together I will have the sequence that was my storyboard.

My Action Figure Cowboys

The cowboy figures that were the thorn in my side for some reason I thought that getting cowboy toys would be easy ohhhh how wrong I was!!!! I looked on ebay I looked on all american sites possible and nobody had what I was looking for none at all.

I went to places like early learning centre toys 'r' us Charity shops, Argos all over every toy shop. 

I even had the family asking other friends with children to see if they had any cowboy figures but it seems that with the decline in films had seen a decline in action figures. I did find one on ebay but when it arrived it turned out to be a 12"inch cowboy doll which the seller had forgot to mention.

Eventually I found Jim Ross a old WWF wrestling figure in my loft which sort of resembled a cowboy and I remembered that my cousin had the same figure. So in the end I had them all along but altered them a little bit. 

I drew a beard on one, made a waistcoat, a poncho and paited one of the hats to make them different in the end they were perfect for what I needed them for.

My Western Set Model

Building my set I started with foamboard to create the base and back and one side I set aside three days to build my set which was in the Easter holidays.

I painted the background blue with a light layer first which later I didn't like so I added darker layers to enhance the clouds.

After looking at the sky I moved on to mountains and how to create them I didn't like this much so i quickly stopped.

The next stage was to start building the General store at this point I didn't have my action figures and the siza was general guess work I measured the door at 5.7" inches as a rough estimate and everything else was made around that.

Once the General store was up and built I started working on the saloon I wanted it to be alot bigger in comparison height and width.

I basically used match sticks, lollypop sticks card foamboard and sand keeping it at a few materials meant that I didnt try and over complicate things. 

Once both buildings were complete I stuck them down at this point I went to bed not knowing that a complication had happened.

The complication was that the foamboard had started to bend and lose shape but it wasnt as noticeable as when I started applying sand to the bottom that the base did the same I then applied a heavy weight to try and even up the base because the figures would ahve toppled over with ease.

After I came back from The Easter break and the heavy weight had been there for a week and a half it had mad the base a lot more even. It wasn't perfect but alot better.

In hindsight I would not have used foamboard as it didn't do the job I really needed maybe if I was to do it again I would use chipboard. I was really peased with houw it turned out though and getting the figures was to prove a more difficlt task.

Set Design Ideas

Design ideas for my model set with the equipment I intend to use including paints.

Looking closely at detail with drawn pictures of western buildings.

Set Design Models

Reasearch of different types of set design looking at ways to build and familiarise myself with what I task I had to do during the Easter break.

Although these are not of wetsern sets they are still are similar and what goes into making a set the finer detail in each one is significant.

This set model is the same kind i'm looking to do as the buildings are coming off the landscape which is painted on this is the direction I am looking to go with.

Each set looks beautiful and stunning care and consideration has gone into them and design work. I think getting the right material is key looking around and getting the exact stuff will have to be found.

Western Saloon's And Towns

Looking at western scenery and how the buildings look also how they were built.

research for my set design.

The saloon is a particular building i wanted to make because it's the equivalent to a bar and I new that I wanted to make a saloon.

The Pillars or suport beams I wanted to include in my model making and looked at these specifically too.

Getting A Perspective Of Cowboys

Carrying on with the Cowboy theme I decided that my final animation would be a western building a set and doing a stop motion animation.

I looked and drew a variation of cowboys, looked at their clothes, how they move and walk using Clint Eastwood as prime example as he is one of Hollywoods greatest cowboy's.

Cowboys are not a regular appearance anymore there hasn't been a distinguishable film in about two decades so I thought doing a western because it's rare to see now.

Clint Eastwood American Cowboy

Perhaps the icon of macho movie stars, and a living legend, Clint Eastwood has become a standard in international cinema.

Clint started trying out for bit parts in B-movies, and was signed as a contract player for Universal.

But Eastwood found even bigger and better things with A Fist Full Of Dollas (1964), and For A Few Dollas More (1965). But it was the second sequel where he found one of his trademark roles: The Good, The Bad And The Ugly (1966). The movie was a big hit and he became an instant international star. Eastwood got some excellent roles thereafter. He starred in Coogan's Bluff (1968), the western Hang Um High (1968) and the musical Paint Your Wagon (1969). Eastwood went in an experimental direction again with Kelly's Heroes (1970)

Clint Eastwood is one of the most recognised figures to put on a cowboy hat and shoot up some bad guys he is influential to how I want my animation to come across the victor being all meancing like how Clint Eastwood portrays his characters.

I like this vidoe for it is a prime example of a quality western film but also for the animation at the beginning it is a animation of just silhouettes and works well with the colour scheme.

Woody practice Animation

My finished Woody ainimation

I am really pleased with how my animation looks it's simple and was a practice go it is also the first time I have ever done a animation myself. It is rough and could have been a bit longer but other than that I think it works. I put it together using after effects and put audio with it seeing as our final animations have to have audio with them.

Drawing My Woody Animation

I decided that as a practice I would try out cell animation for a number of reasons one being that if my stop motion idea wasn't good enough then I would consider doing a cell animation. I decided to use Woody from Toy Story because I had looked at Pixar and Im looking to do a western and it seemed an obvious choice.

The process was long and it takes a lot of patience. I started looking at Woody pictures and different angles and how best to make a animation with him looking at what would be best to move him.

I decided on this one and thought with his facial expression that he would be laughing and pointing at something so i moved his arm up and down but looked at moving his legs too. When people laugh sometimes their legs get week and lose control. I integrated that into the animation aswel.

I drew him over and over again slightly moving him each time and repeated this eleven times.

I am pleased with how I managed to make it look like a sequence Cell animation is alot more complex and time consuming than I first thought but quietly enjoyable.