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| Creature animation by Amanda Costa |
The second year of animation studies at Escape Studios is where our students begin to focus on individual proficiency in the craft of animation.
The Specialism Module (Module Code CR5001) is a self-study module in which students must select an area of specialism and develop their proficiency in that area. CR5001 is worth 15 credits and runs for five weeks, culminating in a portfolio presentation.
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| Michael Davies teaches rigging |
Animation Specialism is the third module in the 2019-20 academic year. In this module, students to explore a subject specialism of their own choice. This could be character animation or creature animation, or even a related discipline such as storyboarding or character design.
CR5001 is a very varied module, as we bring in guest tutors to deliver specialist areas of teaching, allowing students to push their creative skills and explore a wide range of creative choices.
The Specialism module is also where we get ready for the Studio Project that starts later in the year, where 2nd year students begin to collaborate in teams, contributing their own unique skillset to the group project.
Types of Specialism
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| Character animation by Chan Sagoo |
- Games animation (generally looping cycles and character actions)
- Character rigging
- Performance capture animation (MoCap)
- 3D layout and Cinematography
- Previsualisation
- Storyboarding
- Character design
- Editing and Sound Design
- Producing animation (including Excel and Shotgun).
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| Storyboards by Anastasia Gurova |
There are many jobs to do on an animated film and we need many different skills in order to make them work successfully, such as storyboarding and 3D Layout.
CR5001 is an opportunity for students to find something that they feel passionate about and interested in, and specialise in that subject.
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| Concept Art by Francesco Leoni |
Each student will choose their own individual specialism, in a field of their choice. As a result, the focus of CR5001 is of necessity largely on self-study, supported where possible by tutorials and appropriate classroom teaching.
Students should not expect that the classroom teaching will necessarily map directly onto their chosen area of specialism. Most likely, it will not.
CR5001 - Student Work
Below are some examples of student work.
Character Animation by Maria Robertson
Maria Robertson chose character animation as her specialism. Maria is now working as an animator at Factory 42.
Above: Character animation for Specialism Module CR5001 by Maria Robertson
Cinematography by Sebastian Kuder
Sebastian Kuder decided to specialise in cinematography and 3D layout. Today, Sebastian is a 3D Layout artist at The 3rd Floor.
Tutors
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| Iliana Franklin |
Portfolio
The module culminates in the presentation of a portfolio of work in the student's chosen field. For example, Aaron Hopwood chose character animation as his specialism.
Experimentation
Specialism Module CR5001 is a great opportunity to try out different ideas, learn from a variety of guest tutors from industry, and explore a wide range of creative choices. It's where the focus of the course starts to change from "top-down" (do what you're told) to "bottom up" (learn to become a creative artist).
Vimeo Tutorials
As ever, we have hundreds of tutorials at our Vimeo channel to support our students. For example, for Motion Capture, Rigging and Dynamics, we recommend the following:
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| Motion Capture |
- Using and Adapting Motion Capture Animating with Motion Capture data by Steven Lall https://vimeo.com/album/5605446 For more on the Motion Capture tutorial by Steven Lall, read this blog post.
- MoCap Retargeting MoCap retargeting with Amedeo Beretta https://vimeo.com/356232162 For more on MoCap retargeting, read this blog post.
- Technical Animation & Dynamics Dynamics, Particles, NCloth and Hair by Michael Davies
https://vimeo.com/album/5399143 - Character Rigging Introduction to Character Rigging
by Michael Davies https://vimeo.com/album/5399149
Schedule
Teaching starts on Monday January 13th and the module lasts for five weeks. See the calendar below for week-by-week details.
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| Motion Capture by Steve Lall |
The Module Descriptor states: “The student will present a portfolio of evidence showing development in their specialisation in the context of the team studio project and established theory and practice. They should highlight where specific learning outcomes have been met. The Portfolio Review with a tutor will support this.”
In practice, this assignment involves submitting a short piece of work based on your chosen specialism. If the final piece is fully animated, it should be around 11 seconds long. If it is a storyboard piece, it should be around 30 seconds long. If this is a character design piece, it should include designs and turnarounds for 3-4 characters, a small Art Bible. Focus on your chosen area of specialism and produce a piece of work that helps you develop your skills in this area.
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| Character animation by Jamie Floodgate |
Creativity - 25%
Creativity, inventiveness, Imagination, Innovation
Development and Pre-production - 25%
How well was the project developed? Planning, exploration, design, storyboards, thumbnail sketches, animatic (where appropriate)
Production - 25%
Were appropriate techniques used, and to what standard? How well is it realised, does it meet the brief? Overall quality of animation or of the project work.
Post-Production - 25%
Texturing and Rendering, Music, Audio and Sound Effects (where appropriate)
Submission Deadline
The submission is due on Wednesday 12th February at 11.59pm. Presentations and Peer Reviews are at 9.30am on Thursday 13th February at 9.30am. Submission is via email to your tutor, along with a link to your work at your Vimeo Channel, website or blog. Note that there is no Retrospective due for this module.
The Escape Studios Animation Blog offers a personal view on the art of animation and visual effects. To find out more about our new BA/MArt, now recruiting for September 2020, follow this link. To apply, visit the official page here.
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