Graduation 2013 and results...

This week was my graduation for the University of Glamorgan- where on earth has those three years gone. I graduated with a 1st Class Honours Degree in Animation, and couldn't be happier that all of the hard work, sweat and tears over those years have paid off. It was difficult to stay motivated at times but the fact that I love what I'm doing and the perfectionist in me needs to have everything to the highest level meant that I was proud of everything I achieved and produced, and even managed to earn 1st in every major projects throughout the three years. And it seems that was also noticed by the staff on the course who awarded me the Division of Animation and Visual Effects Prize for BA (Hons) Animation at the ceremony just to top things off further, so I'm so proud and delighted to ended University on a high, and thank you to all who supported me, friends and family, along the way, because I couldn't have got here without you all.

Showtime wins Best 2-D animation glammy 2013...

I'm proud to announce that Showtime won the 'Best 2-D Animation' award at the 2013 University of Glamorgan Glammies! It was a great surprise and I can't thank the judges at Dinamo enough for liking the film so much to vote it the winner. There was some very stiff competition this year, so even to be placed amongst the other pieces of work was good enough for me.

So thank you to everyone who has supported me in the creation of Showtime, as well as throughout University as a whole. It hasn't quite sunk in yet that it is all over, but hopefully it's all up hill and good things from here. But without all of the family and friends support over the past three years I wouldn't be in this position, and I wouldn't be able to say with pride, here is Showtime, please enjoy...

            http://mojoanimations.wix.com/rjjones#!video/c159q

Showtime is going to the Glammies...

After being 5 months in the making, and that's only production, Showtime is finally completed and I couldn't be happier with the overall result. It's the film and the style that I set out make, and luckilly time didn't mean me having to compromise on the look which is a real bonus. And it turns out that all of the hard work, sweat and tears have paid off as it's been nominated in the the Univeristy of Glamorgans 'Glammies' awards 2013 in the best 2-D and best third year catagories. Just to see it up on the big cinema screen will be a proud moment and be a fantastic end to the whole process and university as a whole.

But 'Showtime' will have to be kept under wraps for just a little while longer, so here's a little teaser poster just to keeps your mouths watering until its release...

The Master strikes back...

Seeing as its the final week of production on showtime, I thought I'd treat you to a few poses from when the Master has had enough and strikes back...

 

 

 

Showtime hits the final week of production...

This week os the final week of Showtime's production- how time has flown. So its just a matter of tweaking and getting as many of the final touches added to the film as possible. Again, I dont want to ruin the film, it wont be long before you'll be able to see it in full, but this section is one that has been cleaned and finished this week and is looking alot better...

Mojo animations hits the world wide web...

Mojo animations now has a website featuring all of my animation projects to date, from an E4 sting to Good Day Bad Day, along with a collection of artwork to accompany and hopefully enhance each one. It also features work currently in progress to keep you on the edge of your seat as you wait for their arrival, so why not have a look for yourself at...

mojoanimations.wix.com/rjjones

 

 

Relaxing with the Master...

 

The ending of the film needs to have an impact, needs to have built up to something that people will remember, so the spa in which the master is placed to relax has had a bit of a refit. Theres more detial in it that the other backgrounds but I feel that just shows the animators slightly apologetic mood here, giving him more detail to build his relaxation...

 

 

But ofcourse it doesnt last long and the animator soon has one last bit of fun with the Master...

 

Crate O'Pillows...

 

The pillow box has had a revamp ready for the master to fall from grace...

The Master is in for a shock...

 

With this next scene, I had to get across the fact that he is falling. little elements like the hair moving in the wind will hopefully emophasize this and bring it to life a little furhter...

With this section it was great to playn around with some bold poses for his panic striken situation as he falls. Even more so for the next shock he has in store...

 

 

I couldn't resist adding the odd silly little pose, so the master here gets the Bruce Forsyth treatment...

Creating the lightning strike look is fun, quick and in my eyes really effective. Its fun to see the master in different exaggerated poses and really bring the feel of a traditional cartoon to the film.

Spinning the master...

 

Things on the film are going a little slower than anticipated at the moment. The clean up is much more of a painstaking process to get a constant style throughout, but hopefully in the end it will all be worth it.

 

These shots are from the next scene, and the hand coming in really shows the two different styles of the real world and drawn world and the contrast between them...

 

It was alot of fun experimenting with the squash and stretch on these poses and really stretching the character to his limits

Showtime hits the final stage...

The final stage of the film has began progress. Although there is still quite alot of outlining and tweaking to complete, the colouring is able to begin. The scenes weren handed over to designers to go towards there collaboration project, and the process couldn't have been simpler -  keeping the film linear so the characters just needed colouring white to stop the background from showing through...

 

I'm really happy with the way the film is looking and feel that even without colour it is still bold and engaging. The lack of colour allows the sketchy lines to remain clear and for the style to be prominant, as well as emphasizing the fact that everything is being drawn straight onto the page. The elements of colour from the pencil then make the contrast even sharper and emphasize the seperation of the two worlds further.

Title sequence gets a revamp...

 

Showtime is becoming a little too long, and therefore things need to be sacrificed. I dont really want to get rid of any of the story itself, so it felt that the title section , in which the hand of the animator was originally seen coming in and preparing himself to draw the film, will be cut to just a simple shot of the animators desk, displaying art and design work for the film, with the titles then fading onto screen before zooming into the blank page for the film to begin. This will keep it simple, clear and still get the message across of the film being drawn straight onto the page without leaving audiences having to wait too long for the film to kick off...

 

These are just rough versions of the background, but they show the general idea of how it will look when complete, using a blocky, bold, colourful style similar to that of fifties cartoons and the work of Cartoon Modern, so that it contrasts the sketchy look of the main film itself and shows the seperation of the real world of the animator and the drawn world of the character.

Good Day Bad Day heads to MIAF...

 

Today I've recieved some very exciting and humbling news, that my second year film, 'Good Day Bad Day' has been chosen to be played amongst approximately 400 other animated films from around the world at 'Melbourne International Film Festival 2013' this June! It will be showcased on one of the ten days of the event, and I couldn't be more shocked and gratefull that my little film is travelling half way around the world to be shown to audiences over there. It's mind boggling but I'm totally thrilled... 

Time to tweak and clean 'Showtime'

Well, it's back to uni after the Easter holidays- I say back but i've treated the hols just like any other three weeks so have been working away as per usual. So now the film is all roughed and key framed, and now its on to the task of tweaking and cleaning - this is where the film starts to really come to life and the final look starts to take shape.

Some of the beggining sections have been outlined already so it was just a matter of tweaking timing and details of animation which has helped alot and really brought the section together, making it more interesting and hopefully keeping people interested to carry on watching,

I dont want to spoil the final film but here are a few stills as a bit of a sneak peek...

The Ultimate Image...

Now without further ado, after all of the different designs and composition tests, heres the final Ultimate Image...

ultimate image design nears conclusion...

 

After looking at some more artwork, I stumbled upon the art book for the Dreamworks film, 'Rise of the Guardians', which featured an image on the front that instantly struck me. It had a white background and a sketchy style that matched that of my business card and CV, and featured a fantastuic composition of characters coming in from the side leaving lots of opne space that really drew attention. This seemed like something I wanted to try so I set off creating some new designs...