The document provides details about the planning and production process for an animation project. It discusses research conducted on other adventure games and animations featuring cat characters. This informed decisions around the style, colors, and level of detail included. Feedback from surveys and interviews helped determine aspects like the number of characters. The planning process involved storyboarding, character designs, and choosing animation software. Production faced some challenges with software and exporting. Overall, more time would have allowed improvements to elements like sound effects and the character logo.
3. Research
• At the start of my research, I tried looking for adventure games or anything
that included cats playing as the main characters. Another thing I tried to keep
in mind was the different styles and colours that were used for each game.
Some of the games had a more complex design for characters or backgrounds.
This let me think about how much detail I should include in my product and
what the best colour palette would be. The way each game was animated was
also crucial because they would all animate them differently, some either
looking more complex or simple depending on the style. Some of them kept
the movements very subtle which looked simple and it didn’t take anything
away from the characters. This is something I wanted to have a go at. I was
also able to see how each character was drawn. This was helpful because I was
struggling to come up with my own style. In my survey, I found that a lot of my
responses had helped me decide on certain aspects of my animation, for
instance, if I should add sound effects or what type of characters I should
include. Although, some of the votes weren’t too useful when they got the
same amount of votes as something else. The interviews I did let me gather
more information though, such as how many characters there should be or
where my animation should be set.
4. Planning
• When I started working on planning out what I was going to do for my
project, I made sure to put down the equipment I would need so I had an
easily accessible list that I could look back on. This included things like the
software I would be using and whether it needed music or sound effects,
depending on what I ended up choosing. Picking out each individual idea
and writing down everything I needed for all of them was useful for me to
see what I would need to achieve the finished result. After going through
my options and thinking about what I enjoyed best, I choose animation as
the best one for me. Moving onto the mood board, this let me experiment
with colours and see what environment I wanted my animation to be set
in. It gave me ideas for the story and how it should play out when I was
looking at different I also looked through several character designs for
both humans and animals because I wanted to keep my options open.
5. Time Management
Planning out the initial idea for my project and researching different games went very smoothly
for me because of how much useful information there is out there. I had a few ideas already in
mind so it didn’t take long for me to get started and plan out what I would need for each one.
There were also a fair amount of games that I could research although it did take me a while to
choose which ones I should focus on. One thing that did take up a lot of time though was my
experiments. I decided to do multiple tests like character designs, backgrounds and mini
animation practices because I thought they would be the most useful. This ended up taking me a
lot longer than expected which made me a little behind. The animation practice I did had to be
simplified a lot more because of this so I could start production on time. For production, the only
problem I had was finding the right software to use to edit as I ended up editing it at home. There
was so much software to choose from and one of the ones I used was really difficult to navigate
and understand. Luckily I found a much simpler software called Filmora which helped me to
complete my animation in good time. Although, another issue that did take up some time is when
I was exporting my video. I looked at the exported video and realised it had a large watermark
over it which covered half of the content. I ended up having to go back into the edited version of
my video in Filmora and recording my screen while it was playing. It wasn’t the best quality but
there wasn’t much I could do with so little time. If I had some more time to put into my project, I
think I would have put more thought into making the logo I did and editing the sound effects. I
also would have looked for different software to use to edit my video so I wouldn’t have the issue
with the watermark. There were a few comments I had gotten from my feedback which I would
of liked to add into my final product, for instance I would of added a talking sound effect for the
man in my animation to help make it easier to see what happening.
6. Technical Qualities
Both of them are
set at night.
More detail in the
design, for example
more colours,
pixels and darker
background.
Less
colourful.
Simple design.
Pixelated font.
Brighter
colours.
Fantasy characters.
Cat character.
Non-pixelated
font.
Not too many colours are
used in the background.
I used white circles to create
the “coming soon” section in
Photoshop by downloading a
transparent white circle.
White TV background
to make the font stand
out, making it look
more professional
More details
compared to
the animation.
I used Piskel to create the
images and animation.
Photoshop was
used to add the
different font.
Consistent
background that
matches the
animation and logo.
Outdoor
setting.
Indoor setting.
I wanted the main character
visible in all three products.
More
detail and
colours in
the
character
design.
The white background and
black text is more visible.
7. Aesthetic Qualities
I like the
simplistic
design.
The animation could
have gone slightly slower
so you could see what
was happening better.
It has a funny and
unexpected ending
in the animation.
It has a simple colour
palette, making it easier to
focus on the details.
The story is engaging
because its easy to follow.
The font fits with the
style of my product.
There could be more
variety in the colours.
The cat character
could have had a
brighter colour
palette to stand
out more.
The story is original,
making it stand out and
interest the viewer more.
The different fonts go
well together and add
more interest and detail.
I wanted the background to
have the window to show
what time of day it was.
The designs for the
characters fit with my
products style, keeping it
consistent and recognisable.
Having a mix of the same colours
for the furniture, accessories etc
made it look less complicated
and more simple.
I made sure to add the same
background items into both the
poster and animation, helping it to
look less bare and more interesting.
I thought adding in the window
for both the poster and animation
made it look more appealing and
it told the viewer the time of day.
8. Audience Appeal
Anyone who enjoys indoors environment can
take a liking to my products.
Simple design which can appeal
to a younger audience around
5-12.
Variety of fonts looks more interesting then
having the same font.
The characters all have
their own designs, colour
palettes and styles which
make them stand out.
Simplistic colour palette
which can appeal to an
older audience because it’s
not too over the top or
colourful on the eyes.
Detail in the scenery can
interest a wider audience.
Having a cat as the main character can
interest children and cat lovers.
Appealing colour palette for
audiences aged around 20-40
because its simplistic and easy
to focus on.
Detailed backgrounds
that can interest the
viewers because there’s
more to look at.
Children might prefer the
male character because of
his brighter colour palette.
Males might be more
appealed to my animation
because a male character is
introduced.
Anyone who owns a
cat might find they
enjoy my products.
Females could find my cat
character more to their liking.
10. Feedback 1
• What did you like about the product?
– I liked that it was quirky and funny and I enjoyed
the sound effects.
• What improvements could have been made to
the product?
– The dog character could have been better
designed.
11. Feedback 2
• What did you like about the product?
– It was an original piece of animation. It was well
designed and fits perfectly within the time frame to
tell a fun story. Overall, it was very nicely executed.
• What improvements could have been made to
the product?
– The man character could of said something because
you had the speech bubble there. This would of made
it clearer on what was happening.
12. Feedback 3
• What did you like about the product?
– I like the storyline and the unexpected ending. It's funny
and engaging. I like the sound effects and the way the
enhanced and informed the action as the story unfolded.
• What improvements could have been made to the
product?
• I think it's an excellent idea that would be improved by
producing it in a non-pixelated format.
13. Peer Feedback Summary
• What do you agree with from your peer feedback?
– I agree with the comments saying the sound effects make
it more entertaining to watch and how the story is very
humorous. I also agree that I should have made it clearer
that the man was speaking in my animation.
• What do you disagree with from your peer feedback?
– I disagree with a comment saying that I could have
designed the dog at the end better. I personally think you
can easily tell that it is a dog, and no changes should be
made.
14. Peer Feedback Summary
– Reading through the feedback I received, I think I
should've made it clearer that the man in my
animation was speaking. Although I added a speech
bubble, it might not be clear to some people what he
is doing. One of the changes I would make is adding in
a sound effect that I could either create myself or find
online. I also believe that my animation could have
been more appealing to my audience if it had been in
a more detailed style rather than pixels. Although I
didn't have the time to create something like that, this
is something I would consider for next time.
Editor's Notes
What were the strengths of your research? How did your research help your product?
What were the weaknesses of your research? What could you have done better/improve? What effect would this have had on your product?
What were the strengths of your planning? How did your planning help your product?
What were the weaknesses of your planning? What could you have done better/improve? What effect would this have had on your product?
Did you manage your time well? Did you complete your project on time or would your products have improved with additional time?
What would you have done if you had more time to produce your work?
You need to add technical processes in here (tools from the software you used) to explain how you made yours look professional or what issues you may have had that made it less professional due to the technical aspects.
You need to explain not just what looks good, but why, how you made sure it did (during production) and why that was important.
You need to make specific references to your target audience age, gender, psychographic and social status. You say what but not why, how, where or who it appeals to.
What changes would you make to your product based upon your peer feedback and why?