Reading & Writing

Early in my career, I was told to “promote myself,” but I didn’t understand why or how to do this. Plus, I’m typically a modest person, so to “show off” my work is very challenging. But, I soon realized why “promoting myself” was so important- it was the only way people were going to know about the work I’ve done and to able to justify a raise or a promotion. Most people are so busy with their own lives, they don’t take the time to reflect on others around them, and that’s why it’s up to you to put your work out there. But how?

In her book, Animated Storytelling, Liz Blazer talks about how to show off your work and take it to the next level by submitting completed projects to film festivals. However, Blazer states that you must still package it with a professional-looking logo and title for your work to get noticed. Also, make sure there is a great synopsis of the animation and a hook. Finally, take all precautions to follow competition rules, so your submission does not get disqualified on a technicality. 

If entering a contest isn’t your thing, then try posting your creations online via social media. This will give you quick feedback and hopefully inspire you to create more. Another sharing route is joining an animation group, whether online or in-person, to help you connect with like-minded people. Group forums are a great place to share ideas and support one another. 

Whichever way you show your work, be sure to get out there and never stop creating!

“Being an artist is a constant itch.”

-Liz Blazer

Research

Encouraged by Blazer; I’m creating a new animation. It’s based on a poem I find inspiring and enjoy reading whenever I need a push to keep pursuing my crazy dream involving a career change. Before I started my project, I found some inspiration involving text and poetry.

I love the juxtaposition of the scratchy introduction and the switch to the beautiful piano symphony. I admire how the text lines up perfectly with the music used. That is a challenging feat.

Because I am animating a poem, I love how this video shows three different interpretations by three different animators for the same poem. Each is so unique.

Finally, I am spending a lot of time on my text in my animations, and I love the spinning swirls and lines used to bring life and character to the word “together.”

Create

I started creating my animation with the ending because I wanted to focus on the last word, “fly,” which I made the most complex. By working backward, I was happy to know that I accomplished the most complex part and could move on to the rest of the animation. I struggled with how I would transition between frames. I also wasn’t sure how to manage all of my layers in After Effects- there are a ton of layers. I was afraid to try making compositions within the composition for fear of ruining my entire project. I think the time this took and all of the hiccups I had along the way paid off because I’m pleased with the outcome. Watch “What If I Fall”:

Reflect

My seven-week course, Motion Across Media, really pushed my creative boundaries. Before this course, the most I have ever animated was a simple gif. I was always intimidated by motion software. Frankly, I didn’t know where to begin—knowing how complex Adobe Photoshop and other Creative Suite programs are prevented me from trying Adobe Premiere Pro or After Effects.

With Prof. Golden’s tutorials and more tutorials from YouTube, I gained the confidence I need to dive in and start trying out motion graphic software. Without Prof. Golden’s help, I wouldn’t know where to start.

To help understand the principles of telling a story and how to produce an animation, I thought Liz Blazer’s book Animated Storytelling was very effective. I enjoyed Blazer’s quirky sense of humor and enjoyed her use of slang words and her reference to how comedians ideate. Whenever she gave an example of a body of work, I would stop and watch the video to help me understand the text better.

I appreciated Blazer outlining each step in the animation process and the reason why. One tip she gave that I find myself using for all of my animations is creating storyboards and detailing each scene. Her suggestions gave me the confidence to start brainstorming and creating my work.

Finally, this course gave me a whole new appreciation for motion graphics. The time and effort that goes into the tiniest bit of animation are unreal! I am so glad I had the opportunity to see and feel what it’s like to be behind the scenes for a movie or TV commercial or a simple bit of UI.

In seven short weeks, I have come a very long way in the world of animation. I would have never dreamed of creating a stop motion animation, and I was utterly clueless as to how to animate my logo- which is something I’ve wanted to do for a long time. From this course, I learned I need to keep creating and pushing my boundaries. As Blazer states: “It’s often the unpaid personal projects that will further your craft, keep the creative fires burning and if you’re lucky, lead to even bigger things in your career.”