Self-reflect in simulated work experience with Xinyi Gu and Nina

During the two-week simulatied work, I participated in the preliminary art design, scene design and animation action design respectively. I had similar experience in undergrad school so I fit into this project very well. The first week of work was to design a scene and a poster within the scene. Concept design is in my comfort zone, the two designs did not receive too many suggestions for modification, and were directly approved by the director. This is also due to the rich and sufficient preparation of the directors of year2, so that I got a lot of references. However, due to the short time of the project, I could not deeply participate in the following preliminary work, for example, the color of the scene has not been selected by the director, and the three views of the scene have no time to continue to complete. In the animation industry, I think the preliminary design work is more complicated than that. Concept artists in the animation industry may need more than three different design proposals, and the design has to go through a lot of changes before it is finally used. Compared with the work in the industry, the preliminary work in simulated work did not bring me great challenges.

The second week of work is an animated shot of a turning head. I learned a lot in this job. Year 2 students already have a decided animation style and action style, and I think it’s a test to throw away my own style and incorporate the style of the project. In the process of animation, we need to constantly think about how to achieve the effect that the director wants. Such small challenge seems to be very common in the animation industry, as animators need to learn different animation styles and action design styles, for example, Warner Bros. animation characters and Japanese animation characters have completely different movement rhythms, the former is more exaggerated while the latter is closer to real life. This is my biggest gain in this simulation work. Through the experience, I may no longer cling to the style I am used to now, and try more to try different movement designs.

This simulation work is a good preparation for future projects. Animation is a team effort, and every animated film is the result of a team effort. What I learned from these projects is that I learned to integrate into the team, and everything is for the final effect of the work. But the project was a little short so it ended when I just got into it. But I may be able to take this experience to future projects.