10x10x19

So that time of year had come around again where we try to complete the challenge of making 10 films in 10 days. I attempted this year to have a theme, and I wanted this to be 'nature'. However, when it actually got round to doing it, I struggled a lot more due to time constraints and other issues which got in my way.

Day 1

On this day I did not have a lot of time to complete a film and so decided to do a loop animation. This was quite simple but I like the effect it has created. It looked a little plain with a white background but when I added the blue circle to the film, it looked more complete.

Day 2

Day 2 I had a little more time for the animation but ended up spending it drawing the background and because I'm too much of a perfectionist, I kept changing it. I originally planned to have someone walk past the shop, but ended up running out of time. However, I am happy with the final film although it is quite simple.

Day 3

I am really not happy with the outcome of this film. I think it would have looked much better if I had done it hand drawn. My original plan was to have the balloon be the only thing that was round in the whole setting, but I don't think I conveyed it very well. If I had more time I might have been better able to show this.

Day 4

On the fourth day I decided to try something I'd never attempted before. This was creating every frame from cutting out paper. I really enjoyed this technique, and think it captures the jerky, quick movement of the birds very well. If I had more time I would have created more frames and make some parts of it a bit smoother and more realistic. This method really suited me as I am a massive perfectionist and it was nice to have complete control over every single frame.

Day 5 - Ray Day

The fifth day was influenced by the animator Ray Harryhausen as part of the celebration of 100 years of him next year. I decided to do a charcoal animation of him and one of the stop motion skeleton models he is famous for making. I really like the effect it has given and I will certainly be using this technique in the future. This method of animation challenged me as I hate messy work but have been trying to challenge myself and this really helped with that.

Day 6

Today I tried working from a different angle. I had the music before I started and worked from it for timing. The first film here is without the sound and the second includes it. I used a piece by a composer from the 10x10 group on Facebook and am really happy with how it turned out. I like the effect of the hand drawn watercolour behind the digital

Day 7

This day was inspired by a couple of things - a film I recently watched and my boyfriend using the term 'vest friends'. I thought it was a funny play on words and also a chance to work on basic walk cycles again. I'm happy with the outcome and it makes me laugh.

Day 8

On this day I tried something new again. This time, I had a physical train that I made out of matchsticks a while ago. I decided to use this technique so I could try something new again. I struggled to get the movement of the train realistic as the lighting kept changing so in the end I just used the same picture and moved the train to the left of the frame. I am not best pleased with the outcome of this film as I somehow managed to make the size and shape of the character changes and so is not consistent.

Day 9

This day has a personal meaning to me. In real life on this day, I cut off 10 inches of my hair to donate to 'The Little Princess Trust' in memory of my friend, Joanna, who recently passed away from cancer. I was inspired to make this animation after visiting the hairdressers and not having an idea when I first walked in. When my hairdresser was chatting away to me, I thought I would be able to make a funny animation from it. I am most pleased with this film out of all 10, as I think it is the most finished and I am very proud of it.

Day 10

Carlos Santa gave us a theme for this day, and it was 'circles'. I thought this would fit well for my idea. My plan was to create another short animation which would fit with the previous day, and at a later date I could join them together and add bits in to make a longer, storytelling film. The circles theme comes in when, in the film, the time changes from night to day and back again. The circles relate through the actual shape of the rotating colours and then also with the repeating theme of time.

As you can see, my plan to stick to nature didn't go very well. However, I am happy with the films I have made and I learnt a lot about different methods of animating such as photoshop, stop motion, paper-cutting and also charcoal hand drawn animation.