Student Reflections - Animation II #1

Drew Wates

Animation

12th

1. Animation is a class where you animate. You make several drawings where they change little by little and it is either humorous or a story. You animate on paper and computer. There are multiple types like hand-drawn, stop motion, 3D, etc. This is the dancing Stykz project. I consider this my best work. It’s so good, it got a 105. There isn’t too much I learned from this year of this class. If this short was of any indication, I learned that one thing after another could happen in animation. Ex: The end when the stick man was beating up the other man and he fell and then fell on the man.

2. My favorite assignment is The Blood Blade. It was the one I had a ton of ideas and it had a ton of effort behind it that really paid off. I wanted this to have multiple endings, but I didn’t have time, so I just went with the most developed, creepiest ending I had come up with at the time. I liked what I created, even though it could’ve been better. One ending was going to be the man being recognized for his deeds in the form of a statue.

3. My least favorite would have to be the  PAWNCHED flipbook. It was simply a rushed idea that wasn’t even good. I mean a man being punched, really? It could’ve worked if I had more time. It simply didn’t look good. Fun story: It was originally going to be Galaga DX Director’s Cut. That was an idea way more developed. I was doing just fine, but I was having to do too much work on one single frame. So, I scrapped it.

4. I’ve done an animation about dancing, a man who picks up a cursed sword and it overtakes him, and a very average flip book on a man being punched out of a boxing match by…himself? That’s the most development that came out of that one, but I digress. This is a class that you should take if you love animation! You’ll be doing a lot more work than you think so keep that in mind. That said, these animations, if you’re dedicated to your own work, take a lot of blood (heh heh), sweat, and tears to get them done the way you want them to be done. You’ll learn how to animate or get better at it, you’ll appreciate what the creators of your favorite animations go through, and more. If you are dedicated, this can be right up your alley. This isn’t a class for everyone, but I enjoyed it.