Welcome To The Jungle

Our NCFE animators have progressed to animation tests using Kudlian’s I Can Animate, and they’ve been going wild with their 2D characters, as Year 10 employee Tiannon once again explains in her own words… 

‘Today I started by going onto a computer to find an animal silhouette that I liked, then I copied and pasted it into Word and printed it out. After that I cut out the chosen silhouette and traced it onto some black card and cut out the pieces. 

I used pins to create joints and positioned it into an accurate point where I could add my safety pins that would then allow my joints that were the ears and the neck of my rabbit, to move. 

After my joints were all pinned up I placed my animal on a chair with a white piece of paper for the background.

I then had to move my animal and capture images with my frames being 12 per second. While I was capturing images the software had a tool called onion-skinning which allowed me to see what my last image was so I know where and how to capture my next frame.

To save us from doing the next 12 frames we used the duplication tool to repeat an action and reverse it for example when I was capturing my rabbits ears opening out, I used the duplication tool and reversed it so when it reversed you’ll see the ears closing.

We've gone hopping mad for Tiannon's first attempt at using @Kudlian's I Can Animate @NCFE #pedagoofriday pic.twitter.com/PoTFhBwqmb

— Passport Programme (@Pp2eProgramme) September 29, 2017

What I found challenging was when the background kept moving. What I could do next time to prevent this from happening is have a more secure background so it doesn’t waste any time.’ 
–Tiannon 

We look forward to showing you their 3D animation tests in the coming weeks…

In A Spin

Our young employees have made a fantastic start to the new term. Budding animators have begun studying for the NCFE Level 2 Certificate in Animation by creating zoetropes in order to better understand the secrets behind bringing still images to life. Guest contributor Tiannon tells us in her own words about the experience…

‘In my first lesson of studying Level 2 Animation, the activity I took part in today was learning how to make a Zoetrope. A Zoetrope means 'wheel of life'. When learning how to make a Zoetrope I had to plan the sequences using Keyframes which is points between which changes have occurred.’

‘Each sequence contained 12 frames. 1, 3, 6, 9 and 12 were our Keyframes. This made sure it played into a loop. Depending on what representation you used, for example if you used 2D, you would have to draw out an object onto the zoetrope net or you can use a cut out from paper, card or any other flat fabric.’

‘On the other hand if you used 3D you would have to find an object and take a picture of it. This is similar to a stop-motion animation. Once you had your cut outs or photos you would organise your zoetrope net and cut out all the cut lines. You would then cut and stick your cut outs or photos on to the zoetrope.  A zoetrope works by persistence of vision which means you’re seeing a lot of still images then your eyes stop seeing the joins in the images so it looks like the object is moving when it isn’t really.’ -Tiannon

Our new photography learners, including Jaydan (pictured right) have begun their NCFE Photography qualification by experimenting with different camera functions and working under controlled lighting conditions. Below are some early examples of their work. 

We look forward to seeing their final selection of 10 images when they complete the first unit of the Level 1 Award.