Gabriella Magruder's Blog

What did you learn? We learned how to create a detailed bouncing ball. How did you learn it? We reviewed the bouncing ball animation from last year and were shown different techniques such as adding grass using a grass paint brush instead of a solid green square or using a radial gradient to create the illusion of light. Why did you pick this project? It was interesting to see how much a simply animation could change with just a few changes What are your greatest strengths/what are your weaknesses? I've made a smoother animation using key frames rather than separate frames My greatest strength would be working with photoshop while my greatest weakness is the placement of key frames What are you going to do with what you have learned? I'm going to apply the use of unique brushes and key frames to other animations in the future. Is there anything you would change? Why? I would have changed the height of the arcs to avoid the sudden drop towa...

Write a summary of the article, identifying the three key points. A new software makes animation easier through the use of MoCurves. MoCurves allow multiple parts of a model to be accelerated and decelerated in real time. Discuss the author’s argument. The author has come to the conclusion that MoCurves will eventually replace key frames and become the standard for most animation studios. Due to the unique function of MoCurves, which can transform multiple motion cycles at once unlike key frames which, despite their accuracy, can only transform motion cycles separately. What information/evidence and sources does he/she use to support that argument? The author provides a video explaining how key frames work and how MoCurves are superior to them. They also provide a brief summary of a study performed with 5 students without any experience with animation software to prove the superiority of MoCurves over key frames. What are the article’s/author’s stre...

Write a summary/scope of the project. The project was to create an animation with a story for the song "Easy" by Mat Zo and Porter Robinson. Zo, Mat, and Porter Robinson. “Mat Zo & Porter Robinson - Easy (Official Video).” YouTube , Bullion Productions, 8 Mar. 2013, www.youtube.com/watch?v=at3FPJaAwoY. An animated music video for the song "Easy" by Mat Zo and Porter Robinson. During (00:31) and (00:36) the animation uses contrast by changing the city lighting changes from warm colors and shades of yellow and orange to cool colors of blue and red-violet. Between (01:19) and (01:23) i n order to emphasize, the speed of the girls' vehicle Emphasis/Pattern/Rhythm is used. What story was told and how was it told? A model living the stereotypical life of luxury in the big city escapes to a simplistic paradise, by destroying the city, after she discovers she is miserable with her current life as a model. The story was told through her facial expression...

What was the scope of the project? The project was to create a multi plane animation based on in class examples and of other students. What was your process (speak to Pre-Production...idea, concepting, storyboards, etc.; Production...the actual creation; Post-Production...editing). First I decided to make a multi plane animation based on my character from the character walk cycle project. I looked through images online and based my first attempt on a candy land like landscape. After a few days I chose to restart and based my second multi plane attempt based on a horror game landscape instead. I used the mixer brush to create a dull brown orange and blue color for the sky. For the grass i picked three colors from a reference photo of the horror game. Afterwards I dragged each layer and render the entire project. What did you learn along the way? I learned how to use the mixer brush tool to make interesting colors and minor blurred effects to resemble cl...

What did you do this Semester?  What is your overall opinion on the design process and final outcome of the  project? Raccoon :   The project was to create a raccoon with a fall background.  The project took 2 weeks to complete. While making the raccoon I and many others noticed t he instructions were outdated and some of the short cuts and options were removed or renamed. So we had to experiment until our raccoons matched the instructions. While making the raccoon I  learned how to experiment within the limit of instructions, trying different methods while making sure the raccoon was the same as the instructions. After I finished the main raccoon I was told to a dd more to the area surrounding the raccoon so  I changed the size of the raccoon and added a tree, piles of leaves and nuts around the raccoon.  I Liked how the raccoon itself came out however the process of making it was frustrating because of ...

During the past two weeks I've developed a basic understanding of photoshop by  learning how to   use basic photoshop tools and understanding how to apply texture to a limited space using layer masks. I  also  learned how to use folders to organize layers and make them easier to manage and edit  while  making a photoshop document.  While  watching and following along with the basic tutorials I used the patch tool. A tool which is used to remove sections of a photo by filling it with another section of the image, this tool is used when the content aware fill tool cannot be used.  The content aware fill tool was used to remove large areas that are unnecessary and draw away from the main focus of the photoshop image or small areas to make the photo look, overall, cleaner .  The last tool I used was the clone stamp and healing  brush tool. These tools are used to remove small unnecessary things like tags...

   I chose animation because I've always been interested in 2-D animated short films. I would like to, eventually, make simple 2-D animations that tell impactful and powerful stories. I believed I would develop and learn new methods and skills in animation that I use to make 2-d animations like "Gravity" by Allin Liu. I had also believed that I could improve my drawing skills not only in graphic design but also in animation. I also just enjoy animation in general. Whether its making it or even just observing how smoothly it flows or trying to understand what the animation is trying to tell. Animation is something that I just enjoy doing no matter how much time or effort it takes. Despite how infuriating it is at times I still enjoy it. I want to continue improving and developing the skills I have in animation now until I have the skills and confidence tell impactful stories using simple looking animation.