Easter Part 2: Finishing up the holiday

It's now the end of the Easter Holiday and while I have had a chance to work lots I've also had the time to relax a bit and do some more things just for me. It's always good as an artist to see some new things and expand their general knowledge. So I've took the time to see some of the sites a bit more which is quite hard because I've already seen all the galleries and museums in the area but this doesn't mean new things don't spring up.

So I've taken more time to have some walks around the nearby town of Evesham and my village 4 miles away (sometime it does suck to not have a car); and even though I've walked these tracks before it's always nice to see how some things and changed but also to see it in a new way since the way I try to see things has changed during my time on this course. I'm now trying to see the world in 3D, how the light hits surfaces and what the colours of made up of. It's also cool because it's spring and I live in the country so there are lots of flowers in the fields and lot's of life as the farms have so lovely new life with the chicks, goslings and lambs all running around causing trouble.

The next thing I've been doing is watching some movies at the cinema. Normally this may sound like not that view expanding but I love films and seen an unbelievable amount of them and learnt to think about many things differently (anyway I still read books). My local cinema is also a small independent one called The Regal and the best part about it is that because it's an old Victorian playhouse even though it's been renovated it is still amazing visually. It's been updated a bit but has this Art Deco theme to it which it pulls off. Lovely engraved ceilings and awesome patterns in the metalwork of the awnings keep the old vibe of the buildings origins. The red and gold of the interior with small candle lit tables on the ground floor which give this lovely cosy, calm feeling when you sit at them.

One of the films I watched this holiday was the Lego Movie this holiday and I've got to say it was absolutely fantastic. It has a lots of laughs with a nice story that has a thoughtful meaning which makes you think about the role it played in your childhood. The thing that I though was the best about it was how the 3D artists, animators and concept artists really made this amazing world of Lego come to life. Now you would think that to make the 3D models on a Lego movie would be easy and maybe for the artists they did find it easy but the interesting thing is that they really made each figure look like a little plastic man with little bits of trim or marks in the paint which does appear on Lego figures. They made the light hit it like how it does on real Lego and even though the general shape of the Lego figures and blocks is easy to get down its these little bits that suspend your disbelief and think about these characters and their plight. The animators also did and amazing job making wonderful use of how to make these figures move especially when you realise that there are very few degrees of movement and to create believable animations that associate with certain movements and gestures can be quite hard but they pulled it off which is another amazing thing. These parts and more worked together to craft an awesome experience which really made me see how the little things do make a big impact in media and this aspect could make or break a game as much as the big things.

How to do you animate something that can hardly move?

I also went to see a play recently at the RSC Swan Theatre in Stratford-Upon-Avon which is nearby to my house and coincidentally it was on the 450th birthday of William Shakespeare. The play was The Roaring Girl by Thomas Dekker and Thomas Middleton first published in 1611. The play itself is all about this woman called Moll Cutpurse who is a cross-dressing roaring girl who can manipulate anybody. Written in Shakespearean prose it was a funny comedy that was light hearted. The plays theme was on strong female characters and the designers at the RSC decided to mix up the Shakespearean dialogue with the aesthetics of Victorian London with the stage being a cobblestone street constantly steaming and lanterns being lit around the theatre in some scenes. I really enjoyed the experience an thought it was an enjoyable play.

I also had the time to get to grips with poses and animation more this last week. I drew some walk cycles and read more books to increase my knowledge of how this basic motion works. This was a fun exercise and I also learnt that Photoshop can make basic animations as well, check it out!

Next ones will be better that's the way the world works.

I also did a painting that I was proud of where I took more time to do the details.

I've still got along way to go but I'm improving slowly. I think the real thing is that this Easter I managed to keep doing some work everyday and I enjoyed it. I do however need to increase the amount I do everyday as sometimes it might only be a couple of A4 pages. I need to get lost more in my work instead of constantly say "I need to do this and this and this...".

References:

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/LocationPhotoDirectLink-g186422-d2534653-i61403332-The_Regal_Cinema-Evesham_Worcestershire_England.html
Photo of the regal cinema  published on Trip advisor provided by the management at the cinema

http://www.triciasmith.co/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/stalls-banner.jpg
Photo of the regal cinema taken by Tricia Smith 18/02.2012

http://postgamer.net/film-review-the-lego-movie/
Still from the Lego Movie published by Baaz 19/02/2014

http://www.aceshowbiz.com/still/00006454/the-lego-movie-image04.html
Still image form the movie

http://www.rsc.org.uk/whats-on/the-roaring-girl/production-photos.aspx
All the photos of "The Roaring Girl" taken by Helen Maybanks