Animation Final

End of Year Animation Blog

This year in e-Communication I was in the animation and graphic design strands. Specifically though in animation I learned many things such as learning how to use new tools in After effects and learning how to use Maya for the first time! I gained these skills over the year by being taught and actually going into the programs multiple times and actually making projects. The 2-D story animation in After effects we did consisted of us making a character and making him a setting, plot, background, and more. In Maya we would make a 3-D model of things like ice cream or even a hammer!

These skills I learned this year in animation are important as I go into my junior year of e-Comm and continue to improve my skills in both programs. I have strengths and weaknesses in both programs and they are almost the same for both. My strength is that I know how to make and finish the project I am currently working on, but then I won’t be able to make it look nice and neat unlike how others would be able to. For example, I would attempt to draw a fish and it would look like a circle and a triangle eating other circles when it should be a fish eating fish food. This, of course, would only be a problem in After effects and not in Maya since in Maya you don’t scan your projects into your computer. Yet, I still have improved from circles to ovals so I am making progress.

With what I have learned this year I may be headed into graphic design but could still apply my abilities there. For example, in graphic design I could make something and it look really nice but want to make a gif out of it. I could then take my animation skills and make a gif. Throughout my time in animation I would not have changed anything that was taught or shown in the class.

Overall I would have had a wonderful time here in animation this year. I have learned and gained skills for using After effects and Maya, and learning how to make many different objects and making short films.