Who am iiiiiiiiiiiii?

I have no idea yet Jackie but i know i wanna be creative :)

So for our final presentation of the year PPP i did a game environment again... surprise.

I wish i would have had more time to make a new environment but instead to save time and cause Anna said it was ok i used the environment i just made for the responsive brief. I made sure to add things to it though to make it PPP orientated. I added in a leap of faith and a graveyard of ideas where i've wrote my feelings on tombstones and put old crappy idea's in the graveyard. I've also set up a live band of the Plobears to view with a great view of my responsive brief :)

I've set up some image planes of all the work i'm proud of this year and to talk through what i learnt from them etc. And finally i've put my brain in there.... 

I like the little presentation i've got going on and can definitely talk for 20minutes. 

Here's some questions i answered from the powerpoint so that i can have a better idea of walk i'm talking about whilst up there. 

Susan Everett - Screenwriter

Susan Everett came in to talk to us about screenwriting and her life in general, as soon as she started talking i knew she was going to be a great speaker, she gave us the talk of what she did through her life, facts about her, helpful tips and just spoke to us with confidence and humour. She was very easy to listen too and i took a lot away from the talk. 

She made points of entering competitions  don't loose hope, keep trying, know your field etc... It was refreshing to have someone talk to you who you actually believed and wasn't there to just big up themselves. 

A main point Susan made was to do research, dig under the surface and find out about your subject and the people in your area. Find out how stuff works instead of waiting to be taught, get out there, do it, go see, also find people you can trust and like to help you along the way. 

Don't waste time really. 

For me she has probably been the best talker we've had, honest, funny and down to earth and i respect her for that. 

I'll keep with me for life the sentence she said - 'Imagine people as onions' 

...so many layers :')

ha true. 

Unfortunately i cant find a video of her work on youtube she showed us but i especially liked the litte details in it, you can tell she's passionate about getting her story across and creating twists in peoples minds. From the beginning of the film i could tell the girl was nuts, she had that crazy eyes about her, very well acted. All in all a great talk and she had great advice. 

Tom Evans

Tom Evans came today and talked us through a little slideshow he had made about how he got into the digital industry and tips on what to do. He said a lot of things that we already knew from earlier talks in the year but i think the main point i took from it was that he went travelling for 10months. This is something i really want to do before i do anything freelance or job wise. I feel that it would benefit me if i either get a masters abroad or take a year out to travel and film my adventures, take photography  draw and just document my journey in general. I have this feeling that going out there and seeing more things will help me develop as a person more and hopefully create my own style. 

It will also help me to decide what i actually want to do as money doesn't bother me at all. I find that i always find myself thinking that i want to help and influence other people to get more creative. Like i don't want to make something for money, i want to make it to share it and show people it and inspire others really. So maybe from travelling i could do something in volunteering? Or do art on the road? I know these are all random idea's but it's just completely how i feel and i know it's what i need to do. 

Another main point Tom made was that it's probably best to get experience with a studio or work experience before you start off freelance. As you have to remember they hire people through word of mouth and other things you've been involved in before. So it's really good to remember that it's a big deal about who you know and where you've been. 

All in all the talk was good and it just reminded me of things i'd forgotten and just given me more incentive to travel really. 

Student World Fair

I never would have know this existed if my mum wouldn't have randomly driven past a sign and suggested we go. It was a student world fair held inside the Royal armouries in Leeds for students that want to study or do masters abroad. When we walked in the room was packed with students and stalls set up with members from all the different universities talking about the courses they offered etc. A lot of the uni's there were offering medical courses but a did find a hand full for me that offered masters animation classes, illustration classes etc...

Here's some screenshots of the emails i received with information on some of the courses that looked interesting. There's also some screenshots fo the websites i visited from these emails. I really do think i may have to do it abroad or travel first then do a masters here possibly Bradford? We'll see :)

Personally i am very much considering studying my masters abroad as i want to travel more and just take in somewhere new i think it will create some good inspiration for me.

Anthony Ward - Freelance Digital Artist, Animator & Digital Tutor

Anthony Ward came in an gave us a pretty good talk and presentation on being a freelancer for digital artists and animators. He talked about his career as everyone does and told us the story of how he got his foot in the door. As usual to my dismay back then it was all luck and redundancy. It was interesting to listen to his journey but as the gaming industry has changed so much now it's hard to know what to do know as its different. I think we need to get someone in who has literally just got into the industry now, i know thats a hard and silly request but it would be very beneficial. He spoke of how technology has advanced over time and the machines and software he used to use, i'd hardly heard of any of them but i always appreciate thinking of how difficult and how much more time it would have took creative artists to make games and such. He also gave us a bunch of helpful websites to look at and studios to research and visit. 

I think the main thing i got out of this talk is to join digital tutors really. He does it part time and i've heard all the third years and my tutors saying that digital tutors is great so i'm definitely going to do it this summer. We obviously saw some on Anthony's work and he is great at what he does so i'd love someone to teach me who i know is good. 

Here's my notes from the lecture -

GAMECITY NIGHTS

I found a page through facebook about a gamecity nights event in leeds and joined the page to see what it was about. Whilst on there i met a nice guy called andrew who was showing a game that he'd made there and we talked a lot before the actual event. I booked tickets for myself and my friend and attended the event at the electric press in Leeds near millennium square. First impressions were that it was a very small event, very indie like but it was still good to see. There were about 6 groups of people that had designed games and got up and showed and talked about the designs and points of their games. There were a few good and a few that seemed like they needed work but everyone gave good feedback which was good to take in. As it was such a small event and room everyone was networking and getting involved so i was able to meet andrew that i had spoke to through facebook and it was lovely to meet someone who gave me good advice and was interested in what others were doing. Through it we still talk now and he has put a link up to my blog on his professional website which is lovely of him :) He also has linked me up with summer internships and placements so even though sometimes i don't like doing it networking does work.

my friend joe :)

Competition Brief - National Student Survey poster competition 2013

The main reason i picked this competition is because i know how much advertising and audience NUS get's. The person who wins this design will literally be one every university campus in the country. So i plan to research all the nus student survey posters that have won before and add something that links into this year like a main event that has happened or try and link it to music and things uni people are interested in. Something that will catch someones eye cause surveys suck. I'm thinking the colour orange. Everyone loves orange.
I've also picked this one as it has a massive deadline until October so i have the whole summer holidays to put a lot of thought and effort into it instead of squeezing it in with other projects and rushing it. Lastly you can enter up to 3 designs so i'm gonna do three completely different ones :)

Here's a bit of information from the website-

Portfolio boosting national recognition and a major grand prize – can you create an eye catching poster for the National Student Survey (NSS) that will be seen in every university in the country?

The winner will receive:

• National recognition as the winning poster is used to advertise the NSS across every university in the country and is targeted at the over 300,000 students eligible to complete the survey.
• A day working with the firm responsible for running the NSS, to further develop and adapt the poster, getting it ready for use in the promotional campaign.
• A one week, paid work placement with leading London design firm hat-trick and accommodation provided by NUS

here's the link to check it out - 

http://www.nus.org.uk/nssposter2013

Idrawgirls - youtube (Identify a resource that can support an Area of Improvement)

As i've started to make my youtube page just for academic reasons i was browsing around tutorials for digital painting as it's something i know i have to get better at. I came across a picture of Darth Maul from star wars and as i'm a mega fan i clicked on it to find that is was actually a speed painting tutorial. I hadn't watched one before and the guy doing it was so instructional an helpful that before i knew it i had watched the whole thing and had found another one. I gave it a quick go to find that the way i was doing it i felt like i was thinking too much about how to do it instead of looking at the colours and blending them. I messaged him for him to reply instantly bless him, he gave me good advice and gave me a list of tutorials and helpful tips from his website that would guide me in the right direction. I'm gonna keep practising and watching his tutorials as they are just really good, if you haven't seen any of them just scroll down and check them out. I think i may also invest in a bigger graphics tablet as mine is ok for the time being but it is very small. 

I've noticed as well that i need to get a better idea and concept of lighting and shading in digital artwork, such as the colours that work well together and the layers in which you should apply them, dark to light or light to dark. Idrawgirls said it really doesn't matter you get comfortable with a certain way as your learning to do it so that's good. I think it's probably best if i hire some books from the library about lighting or watch some tutorials on it. 

http://www.youtube.com/user/idrawgirls
-drawing and painting tutorials
here's the tutorails for his youtube, really helpful stuff.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2EmdYwRV8Y
- darth maul

These two speed painting tutorials were fantastic and so helpful to watch. Step by step all the way through.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JeLMGAjKoUA
-jango fett

Applying for Summer Internships

PUT RESEARCHING SCREENSHOTS OF THE COMPANIES HERE AND WHY THEY WOULD HELP YOU DEVLOP YOUR SKILLS ETC...


The painful part that needs to be done, i went through the horrible process of finding a bazzilion games studio's in and around the area and researched them all before writing emails to each and every one. As always i find it a little difficult to write professional emails as i always want to make jokes and not sound like i'm begging or boring. Here's a few screenshots to show i actually did it.

and here's a list i made of all the places i applied - 

I've found at the moment that most of the studio's are not doing internships this year or are doing them in programming which i know nothing about. I'm going to continue to look and apply for studios that are further away with the hopes that i can commute or live away for a little bit. 

I made sure to do some research on the studios before i sent off my gaming CV and covering letter, i made sure to personalise each one and include something i liked about their studio, this way they would feel like a mass email had been sent out and i'd taken the time to know their studio. Here's some screenshots of me doing this, it take a much longer time than sending out a mass email but it is much more professional practise to network on the correct level and give people more respect than a mass one. 

Expo's i'm off to later this year

So another year and lot's of great expo's to go too :D 

First on the list is Play Expo which i attended last year, probably going to go on the Saturday, they hire out a massive hall that holds old school games, games that aren't out yet, retro stores and competitions. It's always a great networking event full of people with passion for all types of games and new tech there. 

Second up is one i haven't been to before as it's a bit far away but i think were gonna have to go down and check it out as it's on of the biggest gaming events in the country. 

EuroGamer London - cannot wait.... i know there will be so many things going on through the entire day so gonna get down there early and get loads of free goodies and play till my eyes burn. 

Third - MCM comic con - never been to this one either but i'm very much looking forward to seeing all the art and graphic novels. I've looked online and apparently there's a lot of speakers on so it could turn out to be a very helpful networking event. I'm sure there will be loads to buy too :D 

Fourth - I hope i can make this as last year i missed it :/ but i've heard it's fantastic and it's in Leeds too so it's right on my door. They have workshops, cosplay and guests showing there work. 

Bioware Talk - BAF - Neil Thompson

Neil's talk was pretty good, worth the £5's i think. He spoke about his life and how he got into the field he's in today. (Bioware) He talked through a slideshow he'd put together of how it was a fluke how he started as it seems how most people started up back then as there wasn't much of an industry like today. As most talkers we've had in he mentioned how he had been laid off and made redundant several times and how many many people had screwed him over but as all the others with passion he stuck too it and finally got his big break. He had some good insight into the games industry but manly the talk was about his life and he didn't really give us that many helpful tips on what to do, how to get into it, who to talk to etc... it was just basically his life and what he's done, which don't get me wrong it was interesting, i just hoped for a little more information on how to get into it now, not then. 

Here's a little video of the talk, hopefully you can get something from it. 

BAF. Bradford Animation Festival Day three - 16th November

So the final day! We had talks from LAIKA and Aardman they were interesting but the main event of the day was Will Beecher on Paranorman. It was fantastic to see some of the videos he showed us. Him and his colleges also worked on the film Caroline and the videos he showed us showed them working on set. There's 24 frames per second and as the are working with stop motion and clay models each second was moved in around 6 times. So just for one second of a moment it took them 6 little movements and 24 frames of one of those shots together to make a second! That is ALOT of work. I was really impressed and if i'm honest... glad i'm not in stop motion! I admire them greatly but i think i'd kill myself it i had to do that everyday. 

Here's some video's form the making of Coraline just so you understand how much time and effort is put in if you don't already know - 

another one that shows the little simple things you can think of to use and quirky ideas :')

All in all the talk was very rewarding and interesting, it's a shame i couldn't go to see the free screen after but i definitely will get round to watching it as it looked really funny and visually good. 

Here's some pics i took of the models and Will, it's great that he brought them along to let everyone see them, a real nice treat :) 

sorry about the horrible photo quality, Ipod touches have rubbish cameras! :/

BAF. Bradford Animation Festival Day two - 15th November

This was the best day, we had talks from Vanessa Boyce from Double Negative, Martin Walker a lecturer in 3D computer graphics and animation, Jonathan Gales from factory fifteen and Ben Hall from Criterion games. They were all brought in to talk about urban environments and creating photorealism in them. All of the talks were interesting and informative giving knowledge on what to learn, where to go , what to do. The only bad speaker i thought was Vanessa Boyce as she just kind of played us trailers about Total Recall and didn't really say much, plus i could tell she was really nervous as her voice was shaking through out the entire thing bless her. It would have been nice is she could have talked about her studio more and the things they get up to in everyday life instead of bigging up total recall 24/7.

Any way here's some pics from the day - 

Jonathan Gales -Factory 15

The best talk of the day came from Jonathan, he really had his head screwed on and knew what he was talking about even though he was so young. It was nice to see and the other talkers seemed to look up to him and divert questions to him. He showed a fantastic slideshow and some work that he'd done, it was magnificent and completely down my street where i want to go. He had a great passion for architecture and had studied it before going into games, i'm very interested in this and will be looking into short courses over summer and next year as i cant spend 7 years on another degree doing it. I took from the day to just keep at things and its not all about maths with architecture  You just have to look at things differently and practise your skills.