Katie Lam

About Katie Lam

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25th January 2023

Storyboard Week one

Storyboard - Creating stories

Drawing within the frame

In this exercise I had to use a prompt to show different storyboard concepts. The prompt I chose was ‘Running away from a monster’. The concepts I used were contrast, depth and design of the shapes primarily. Contrast between the figure being large behind the smaller shaped cat at the front. Depth of the smaller one in the front being loomed over by the sinister cat. Design of the shapes of the claws being sharper compared to the round smaller cat.

This was a good use of three of the concepts but to emphasise on certain aspects to make it more impactful, such as making the weaker cat even smaller to make the contrast higher in the image.

Creating a narrative using a Moodboard

This was a group based task with being told to choose a certain fairy tale and create a Mood-board from that. I decided with my group to do Little ‘Red Riding Hood’. We started by looking up artists that could inspire the type of theme we would go for. Seeing a twisted version of Red riding hood we decided a grunge sort of series would be a good idea to start with. we used song lyrics to make a story where red has a lavish life however she gets bored and astral projects into another world where she teams up with the big bad wolf to do crimes. We added twists of a dark and weird/wonderful to the mix which is definitely what the story embodies.

If I were to do this task again I would add footnotes to be able to look back easily and understand the story plot, I would also add more locations as the story would be a series so more different scenery is required for each episode.

Overall thoughts

My overall thoughts on the first week is that it is developing my initial skills of storyboarding and helping me think more outside the box when creating mood boards as they are references that are very vital and need to be memorable when taking ideas and stories. They also have to be very clear and concise so it made me think more analytically rather than only aesthetically when making them.

Drawing within the frame

Little Red Riding Hood Mood board

Katie Lam Storyboard Rotation 0

24th January 2023

2D Animation – Location

Creating a 10 second Animation to a selected sound

Initial ideas

I was given four different sounds to anaylse and created mood-boards for each of those sounds. I decided on the first sound as it made me think of two beings communicating with each other using just sound waves alone. In my mind it was of two underwater creatures using sound waves such as whales or dolphins. I chose dolphins just simply because I thought they would embody the image better than whales.

Initial Sketches

I created a 3 panel storyboard on what the ten second animation will include as it is a short time period I made a short story where a dolphin is alone and uses sound waves/ echolocation to locate some friends. It ends up finding another dolphin creating an explosive embodiment of finding another just like you. I also created a sketch of the specific colours I would use and the world that the dolphins live in I made to be an empty void till they hear someone else that lights up their world.

Starting the Animation

I used what I learnt in the first week of 2D animation which is the Adobe programs such as Photoshop to animate this whole project on (Minus the effects). Since learning how to use Photoshop I am more comfortable using it to draw and animate the dolphin. I used a circle as a base to get a consistent loop animation and used the principles of 2D animation (I tried to include all the types such as Sqaush and stretch, Anticipation, overlapping action and so forth). This was to push my ability to create interesting animation that is loose and yet cohesive using these principles.

An example of one of these principles in my Location animation is the Anticipation of the dolphin rising up at the top of the arc then dropping fast as it anticipates the quick fall with the initial preparation for the action.

Adding details

I used the mood-board from the beginning to add colours to my animation and lined the whole dolphin sequence as well. Since I was still new to Photoshop drawing and animation I was still learning how to use the pens and it was not the best line art I could have done as it looks quite digital and robotic looking. If I were to do it now I would have added more line weight variation in the line art to give it more life.

There is an orb in the center which is made to simulate a voice box for the dolphins as the sound waves of the first dolphin hits the second it ruptures the sound box to show there is another dolphin there for the first one. To create the second dolphin I decided to re-use and re-colour the orb/dolphin to save time and create an asset out of the dolphin animation I drew.

Putting the Animation Together

Adobe after effects was my editing software to bring this idea together. When learning about this program I learnt to export images on Photoshop as a PNG sequence to create an animation without a background that can be placed on top of anything. So I used this knowledge to put the dolphins on a moving background.

I also used the Opacity function to create a gradient background fading from one image to another to make the background more ominous and interesting more align to the empty void I was describing earlier. Opacity was used in the sound waves as well as increasing size to make it look like it was sound waves from the dolphins. Position made the dolphin look like it was moving away when it was just moving off screen and the other came on.

If I were to do this process again I would have spaced the sound waves better as they are all very close to each other and end very quickly which doesn’t give the audience much time to process what is happening. I would also not lower the opacity of the dolphins at all, as it just makes them more difficult to see rather than making them look more mysterious as intended.

I added the audio in Adobe after effects and exported it to Adobe Media encoder to create an MP4 of of the video and uploaded it to youtube to watch.

Overall thoughts

I thoroughly enjoyed this project a lot as it developed my skills in photoshop and helped me learn three Adobe programs. Best parts of this project was my use of Adobe after effects even though it was simple it was a good use of the program and what it had to offer as well as utilising easier means when creating an animation such as creating an asset and using that to create an animation all together is a creative use of the program.

If I were to do this whole project again I would first draw more in Photoshop to learn the program more and give my drawings more of a dynamic feel to them. I would also add more secondary actions/ overlapping actions to create more life at the end so it is not so plain. However overall I am pleased with my first proper animation created with these software and wish to create animations much like these in the future.

Links to the Animation called Location:

Mid progress video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnrG6zvSWH4

Finished Animation: Location – YouTube

Moodboard

Storyboard panel 1

Storyboard panel 2

Storyboard Panel 3

Dolphin Sketch

Mid Progress 1

Mid Progress 2

Mid Progress 3

Mid Progress 4

Final Video screenshot 1

Final Video screenshot 2

Final Video screenshot 3

Final Video screenshot 4

Final Video screenshot 5

Katie Lam 2D Animation Rotation 0

24th January 2023

3D Worlds – Using Maya

Experience with Maya

Initial experience

This was a new program for me as I had not heard or have used maya before till now. This was a new complex program that has a lot of functions I was not aware of just yet. I quickly learnt how to create basic shapes and how to manipulate the faces and edges of the shape to deform it into a different model completely than the one I started with. I learnt how to divide faces to create the asymmetrical shape of the fish.

Reflecting on my work

In the end I created good low poly model tests using all the different skills I was taught, however they are not perfectly done, such as the fish being not identical on both sides of the model due to not highlighting both sides when using the multiple camera planes. I could have also added fins to the fish to add more detail to these low poly models.

My favourite model is the bunny as it is the most detailed and uses my favourite skill too. The skill contains the use of selecting certain faces to pull forward or push back to make a dent. This is a very interesting skill I used later on in my developed low poly model that uses shapes like a square deforming it so you can create extrusions from the initial shape.

Overall thoughts

Overall I enjoyed making these models even though they are the absolute basics of maya this has piqued my interest in this type of animation and I see the protentional career I could create with these initial skills.

3D chair

Fish with 3D eyes

Fish with Hole eyes

Fish body

Flower

Bunnie

Katie Lam 3D Animation Rotation 0

24th January 2023

3D Worlds – Creating a low Poly Model

CANNIBAFISHISM

Initial Ideas
In my first rotation I created a dolphin animation. I decided to continue the underwater theme with something similar and ended up on underwater caves.

I looked up images of these caves and took inspiration with their shapes as well as their colour palettes as well.

Initial Sketches
Based on the mood-board I sketched out multiple ideas with simple shapes since I was creating a low-poly model.
I decided to suspend my model as it would make it easier to look at all the details it has to offer as well as making it its own ecosystem where its own rules can apply.
The spikes, the arc and the mountains behind have been inspired from the mood-board.

The initial story I produced was of a dangerous island where all the fish and life mysteriously died with no explanation seen so far, with the ending of the story revealing the secret as to why this is the case.

Making the Model
These four progress shots shows the development from the initial cave to the end where I created the fish in the pond. There was a learning curve when shifting a square into a rock formation, but I was able to use Boolean to cut out shapes in the arc and pull-out teeth for the spikes. An unintentional look I created was with the mountains it looks like a wolf sticking its tongue out with teeth in its mouth. I wanted to go with this predator look so I created cannibal fish eating smaller fish creating the whole idea of “Cannibafishism”.

Creating a spooky colour palette
Since my idea has changed to a darker tone, as well as Halloween coming up, I turned to more of a twisted and sinister colour palette.
Rather than the original cool blue colour palette.

Making the Model
The first renders look very polished and bright. With the model looking glossy with the sky dome light, I added I decided to add some more to the storyline since it was fitting at the time.
This world is now a gummy world where to survive you eat other gummy species such as the fish eating the other fish giving more context to the cannibalism I added in the beginning.
Silhouette of the wolf and the tongue came out more with these renders however something to fix for the final render is the lighting makes it difficult to see the mouth spikes and the inside in general so in the final renders it would be best to find a different light to show off the spikes easier.

Semi-Final Renders
When I first rendered it came out with lots of noise and was very desaturated. These were generally the positions I wanted to use so I only did a few tweaks position wise in the final renders. I also had been rendering incorrectly which was why the images are very desaturated, so by asking for help I was able to render much more cleaner images in the end.

Final Renders
This is the story I wanted to tell. Firstly showing off the island from a distance with the moon in the background giving off an ominous atmosphere to it. Coming up close for the second image it has the cave almost eating the camera (or viewer), as well as looking down on you. Lastly shows what really happens on the island with the cannibalistic fish which is that the weak get eaten much like the stomach of a beast.

Initial ideas Moodboard

Initial ideas sketch

Starting the model

New Colour moodboard

Mid progress 1

Mid progress 2

Semi finished renders

Final renders

Katie Lam 3D Animation Rotation 0

8th December 2022

Collaborative Project – Point of View: Finished/Unfinished

Initial Ideas

Story book
flip through pages
show a journey of us going to different places we like
We are animals instead of humans
shows two different sides of our lives
Use blue and Red to contrast our animals more as well as to set the animals apart from the rest of the animals in our scenes.

Developed thoughts after finishing

The concept of this animation was to create an finished/unfinished film based on the prompt point of view in pairs. I suggested an idea to do a contrasting view of our lives before we came to UAL. Since me and my partner come from differing backgrounds (My partner has lived in Beijing however was not born there, my ethnicity is Chinese however I was born in Britain). This was the main focus of our story and at the end we would meet at UAL (University of Art London).

There on the bottom is a loose guide on how the story was going to progress having multiple shots showing different locations on where we lived that was visited often. I do have some regrets of not developing this part too thoroughly as we did not do that much research on older photos of places that resonated with us, as well as not visiting some of those places to get in person experience as we just went on past experiences . If I had to do this again I would try to visit those places in advance to gather the feelings, smells and the environment as I did in previous workshops.

We decided on animal characters instead of human ones as we decided based on the time restraint and on the characterisation that animals that can represent us in some sort of way will help show contrast as the opposing animal would populate the other persons home since again we are differing in ethnicity to where we live in. This will also help show our personalities and somewhat our appearances (My partner is taller than me so we assigned her a rat as she associated it with that animal before and I chose a narwhal as they are flatter and rounder contrasting the rat which has a more angled shapes.

Storyboard Ideas

Keep it simple and easy to understand
have the more important scenes be longer
Make sure the pacing isn’t too fast or too slow
Make sure it isn’t unmanageable in the time frame we have.
Try to keep the style and characters consistent.

Developed thoughts after finishing

We initially had a different idea on how to present this story as we wanted to use a similar style of book art from a previous artist in our work we used in the Elephant and Castle project called Maria G. Pisano. Where the beginning would have a flipping book animation showing different places we have been to, however we discussed and decided it was not a good idea. This was because putting our audience into that first shot they are simply unable to comprehend what is going on just yet and assuming they can read all the flipping pages is not possible due to the 30 second restraint. So we decided to change the opening shot to have us walk outside our homes as it would show a start a journey as well as establish the idea of our differing living places.

Me and my partner created a timeline and how long we were going to spend on each part of the animation. I realised by doing this how short 30 seconds truly is and how much of a challenge this was going to be however we were able to prevail as we prioritised more important scenes that needed longer time to soak into the audiences minds. An example is the travelling scenes (Walking and Travel scenes) as well as the final shots having time to develop as well. In the end this was a good split in timings and as I animated these timings they were exactly the timings needed for each scene while also making sure not to stay on one scene for too long to keep the pacing of the animation smooth.

Thoughts when making

Photoshop keeps crashing which is not ideal and I lost some progress but I will come back from this with a plan.
I am not used to photoshop but I will use this project as a means to learn more about the program when creating a more professional looking film.
Make sure it is consistent and checking in with my partner to make sure we have tasks divvied out to each other and on schedule.

Developed thoughts after finishing

When I made this animation I used Adobe Photoshop and Adobe After Effects. They are both quite new programs to me so I am still getting used to animating in these programs. Troubles I encountered was Adobe crashing when I would do a certain action so to avoid losing progress I saved very often as well as backing up multiple saves to make sure I was progressing well and had a backup to fall back on if I did lose any progress. I also reduced the amount of times I did that action as it was avoidable. I also encountered issues with setting frame rate but after doing some research I was able to use the correct frame rate conversion to Adobe After effects.

When I animated I used more simple types of animation such as boil animation as well as animating very loosely to get very exaggerated expressions using squash and stretch techniques. I did push the animation in the train travel scene which is one of the best put together scenes I animated in this short film as it emanates a lot of life from that single scene alone. The lighting and use of soft blur on the whole scene itself brought this warm ambience that I was going for. If I had to change one thing about that scene is the way I didn’t have the narwhal doin g much, to show off my personality more having it draw or be on its phone would be more accurate to personifying me.

Overall I am very happy with the result as it is exactly what I set out to do at the start and it portrays the difference of our lives till now very well as well as displaying our individual styles combined and working in tandem which I am content that we were able to merge them together that well. If I were to do this again I would develop the ideas much more In the beginning as well as add more detail within some scenes to add more of a professional look much like the train scene had.

Link to the animation:

https://youtu.be/k-sjFzCiWfQ

Planning out the storyline

Storyboard and creating timelines

The Making of the animation

Katie Lam Introduction to Animation 0

8th December 2022

Collaborative Workshop Place and story – Elephant and Castle

Initial Ideas

Story book
flip through pages
Used the pigeons outside to tell a story (Interviewed them)
Looked around the area for inspiration (Church and talking about war in Britain).
Create a 3D book to display a church in using popsicle sticks.

Developed thoughts after finishing

In this week in a group we were assigned to create a story on how elephant and castle was founded. This was to help foster teamwork and push our minds creatively when coming up with stories and presenting those stories as well.

What I enjoyed most from this project was how the creative process created itself. There was only a starting point of a prompt where I was unsure where to take the idea since I was only just aware of this area of London however this project showed me that once you have an idea it can be stretched and developed with a backstory as long as there is a solid foundation to it.

Applying that to our creative process , we went out side looking at our surroundings we had an idea of a conflict of war that brings the two sides together. We used found objects from the classroom to make a church as there was a church near University, this is where the process started creating itself unravelling in front of us.

I contributed with ideas and giving assistance with the structure as well as keeping an open mind for other ideas for the backstory. I could have also assisted more in the creation of the church but as it is I am content with how it has come out.

Thoughts while making

Developing this story is very free and feels like anything can make sense as long as it has a strong foundation to the idea (example in this case is church, love story and war which are aspects of Britain’s history.
I could have done more when helping as train strikes prevented me from staying long to help, if there wasn’t any strikes I would have been more present in the filming aspects of this film.
I assisted more in ideas and with covering the book in black paper.

Developed thoughts after finishing

These shots shows how we developed the church as a team. Overall I enjoyed this project much more than anticipated. This workshop helped me become more vocal within group projects and helped me overcome a sense of fear when working with others with differing opinions.

I have also developed my creative process more by expanding my ability in story crafting. An example is using subjects I would not usually use and combining them could result in opposing ideas that don’t clash but work well with each other almost subverting expectations much like I have learnt in another workshop.

We also used what was available to us which challenged my mind creatively in problem solving however we persevered and used those objects effectively to tell our story across well. The way we presented this story was inspired by Maria G. Pisano. She is a book cover artist that creates art using books and book covers using all types of books in her artwork too. An example is her artwork ‘Infiorata – Carousel book with Pamphlet’ we ended up making a opening book to reveal the church as well as have a smaller accordion book in the center of it much like how Maria’s book has a pamphlet inside of it.

A summary of the story is the elephants and the castles were two factions against one another, however one of the castles fell in love with one of the elephants . Them being together brought the factions together living happily ever after.

Link to the Video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5W2-Ax3AveY&t=2s

Work in Progress Shots

More Progress Shots

Maria G. Pisano Artwork 'Infiorata - Carousel book with Pamphlet'

Katie Lam Introduction to Animation 0

8th December 2022

This is the Place Workshop

First Impressions

I rarely pay attention to my environment due to thinking of my own safety when travelling in London however looking at the places I come by could be good inspiration.
Roads, maps and travel guides are all man made things however they all can still be used within art to create art.
When travelling since my lens has widened from the other workshop it would be good to document places I have been to and how I got there to use in later projects.

Developed Response to the Workshop

In this workshop I learnt about how the environment around us can influence our artwork where the places we travel can be used as materials to create new types of art from those materials.

I was intrigued by an Artist called Nikki Rosato. Nikki uses printed lines on a map cutting them out to trace out a humans features . This intrigued me as from far away the figures are much less colourful and look a lot more bland. However when looking up close the colours shine through much more.

I looked more into her intent with this piece of art and she described ‘Our physical bodies are beautiful structures full of detail, and they hold the stories that shape our lives. The lines on a road map are fascinatingly similar to the lines that cover the surface of the human body’ in this statement it shows she I trying to convey human detail using something created by human hands is reinventing this travel guide into the journey of a human body.

The other images are my responses to a set task on walking around my neighborhood and documenting some surroundings as well as what I heard and smelt. I had also created a small map on my surroundings as well. I believe I did well to capture my area as it is quite quiet and suburban place of residence. However while doing this task I didn’t wear earphones as I usually do when walking in my area. Without them I was able to hear how quiet the area truly is . It felt calming and was quite pleasant to spend that time without anything blocking my senses.

The map below is full of a few colours, these colours are representative of places I have walked down in my area as this was a way to add colour to my map but to also add more depth and meaning behind those colour placements.

Map and Drawings of my Neighborhood

Nikki Rosato Artist

Katie Lam Introduction to Animation 0

8th December 2022

A Handful of Dust – Big small stories Workshop

First Impressions

This workshop taught me how to use big ideas in a small time frame
I enjoyed learning on how to create my own big ideas
I learnt that when you make things not correlate to their intended use it adds this air of mystery. This is a good starting point for a plotline.

Developed Response to the Workshop

Big small stories is about putting the most impact on the audience even with small narratives as it gives the smallest amount of information but by providing enough information to keep them interested it will leave them with wanting more.

I got to learn how to do this myself by creating a short story with only five lines based on a set prompt. I decided to choose grief however adding a twist by tricking the audience that the story was love based then turning it into a of a more sinister tale. This idea of subverting expectations I learnt from an earlier workshop but worked well in this piece of text too.

I had also used the techniques taught in this workshop which was big small stories by not telling the audience what exactly happened giving enough context to establish a storyline and a set of main characters but not exactly how it happened and how it turned sour. This was an effective storyline however may be very basic as it uses generic phrases that don’t give any deeper meaning as to what the continuing plotline could be,.

So to add to this and make it more of an effective big small story I could add more detail to what kind of world they gave as well as adding to more of what the other character is under could give more context to this story.

Another part of this workshop is looking at where I was to consider my space , negative space, tension and lighting. As I usually work at night the space is very dark an d creates this sinister ambiance with the only light source in the center of it. The sweet wrappers look intentionally placed even though they are carelessly scattered its as if the empty wrappers compliment the dark exterior of this shot.

I gave this object a line that doesn’t fit it either ‘I love worms’ . Much like the 5 line story this was to create a big small story by subverting expectations of what you expect from this object, which is to stand and look beautiful. The juxtaposition of the line I chose made the cute figure look a lot more twisted just because of that singular line.

5 Line Story using the prompt grief

Desk Setup

Figurine

Katie Lam Introduction to Animation 0

8th December 2022

Subject/Object Workshop

First Impressions

Looking at the artists inspired me to develop my own art and the direction I could take it (example Tracy Emins)
Analyzing artwork of objects used in interesting composition shows that humans don’t need to feature in artwork to become art or tell a narrative story.
Disney Exhibition was insightful showing off an famous animation studio but also how certain characters were made were interesting.

Developed Response to the Workshop

This Workshop looked upon what makes objects artwork. We analyzed how different artists presenting meticulously placed objects into ideas that the audience can speculate and almost relate to in their own ways. As well as how those objects interact with one another too.

One artist I was drawn to was Tracy Emins artwork called Bed. This was an early artist shown but I was shocked at the honesty her artwork shown. In my own personal artwork I want to present perfection and clean lines however the Bed Tracy made was chaotic and was intentionally showing the imperfections of life that I try to avoid showing. This artist alone shed light of a new side of art I was not aware of just yet and that I might bring to my own artworks in the near future.

With this look at objects as artworks there was an assigned task to observe a gallery in London looking at the ‘Objects’ used to tell a story. I ended up choosing The Wallace Collection Inspiring Walt Disney Exhibition. In this exhibition I found plenty of examples of using objects as artwork such as creating the inanimate object characters. They used the design of an elephant based porcelain vase taking the idea and innovating the object into a character.

Something that caught my eye was how they presented some of these artworks, some objects were in glass cases to preserve the integrity as if they were prizes as they were in Walt Disney’s eyes but now is prized objects to the audience viewing this exhibition. There is also some books that are lined up, this is akin to the fairy tale aspects of Disney stories as they all have a fairy tale wonder to them. One presentation I was baffled at was the frames of Cinderella’s dress changing was displayed on the wall frame by frame, this truly gave an idea of how time consuming and large this animation took bringing that honesty back into art and presenting even the separate frames shows transparency between the audience and the animators.

Looking upon the Workshops ideas I believe the exhibition could have done a better way of bringing that wonder that is associated with Disney as most of the sketches were just framed onto the walls. What I believe could be improved is the flow of the artworks could have some sort of arrows with information on them to guide the audience to have a more interactive feeling.

Overall I enjoyed this workshop as I got to realize the raw ideas that an artist can present in their work as well as the placement and usage of everyday items can influence and create art itself without needing a person or living being to be the stem of that artwork.

Wallace Collection Inspiring Walt Disney Exhibition

Tracy Emins 'The Bed' Artwork

Katie Lam Introduction to Animation 0

8th December 2022

Picture Perfect Workshop

First Impressions

My mindset was changed to understand that text cannot be the driving force in animation unless it is about words the animated image should speak for itself.
Grid work got me looking around in areas I usually avoid but it made me realize how much trash really littered London.
It changed my point of view on perceiving the world as I am always on my way to somewhere so I can get to a safe location, stopping and looking at things has caused me to enjoy the beauty of the outside more. Opening my lenses a bit more.

Developed Response to the Workshop

In the very first lecture I created a storyboard which depicts who I am in three panels. By doing this simple task I had come to a realization what kind of mind-set was expected of an animator, which was to use motion and actions to present a narrative rather than using words. In most instances in animation actions spoke louder than words.

My first Workshop was ‘Picture Perfect’ had me learn about the composition of artwork as well as the meaning behind of it. There was a previous task where I was to gather 20 images telling a story with it. My story consisted showing my travel from one train station to another. As I went I took photos of interesting aspects around me in the environment when travelling.

Analyzing my composition a grid helped keep the narrative clear and concise I also used different angles in my images to force perspective onto the viewers to view exactly what I was seeing and conveying. An example of this is the second image where I tilted the camera to look down onto the train tracks, making the viewer look through the bars created a lens that framed the whole image.

Looking upon my story I believe I conveyed it well with the initial look upon the train tracks and the train itself, zooming in the pavement adds this personal touch as closer the camera is it is as if the viewer is looking through my eyes carefully looking upon these objects.

Ways I could improve my composition is varying the sizes of the images as well as changing the shapes of the grids. This could add a new level of importance to each image as well as add more visual aspects giving the images more character and could give more insight to the impact I want to convey with each image. An example could be the can in the train could be a cylindrical shape and the images of leaves could be a silhouette of a leaf to reflect the objects in the images.

To improve on showing the narrative I could zoom out as a lot of the shots are very up close which can be very specific but lacks in some context as the train station images are too close to identify its location that well.

Overall this Workshop was very insightful on broadening my personal view finder and caught me looking at objects I would usually not pay attention to, this also had me realize that when I travel I rarely pay attention to my surroundings. So from now on I will subconsciously continue this task in my everyday life to broaden visual ideas I could use in my own narratives.

Cat Sketch

Gird from Picture Perfect

Katie Lam Introduction to Animation 0