Production

1. Experiments
Your Name

2. Process The process of my production experiments were to
create a base character and animate a movement,
Because I have already had practice with walk cycles
I thought I would try to animate the arms and an
object in them. Doing this I have learnt that if I use
less frames and layers for the arms I end up with a
smoother image than I would end up with
otherwise, I started with 6 layers and an 8 frame
animation but it started to have a very jumpy
animation to the hands that looked too unnatural to
be a useable animation. Using this I can see that
animating different objects could be a lot more time
efficient than having to animate a full character. To
create this model I used a one pixel width on the
pencil tool to draw a vague outline of the character.
Using that outline I thought about how I could
manipulate the character to recreate some form of
action that could include a reaction afterward, In
this case it was moving and shooting the gun and a
reaction being the kick of the gun (recoil) and the
bullet appearing. After creating those four frames in
black I took to finding the colours for the character
to stand out on any background I put it on. I decided
on the green and blue colours as with those two
contrasts at least one colour will show clearly
meaning the position of that character would never
be lost.

3. In my experiments I decided to create an animated fire to
see what an shading works in for that kind of object, To
create this I looked back at the research document and
used the Tetris game and professor Layton to look at the
grading and design of the puzzles and the pieces they use.
Using that I made the fire have colour grading in the
centre of it but I didn’t create and shadowing or fades on
it to keep it simple to create and re create when and if id
need to in the future for the game.
To create the pixel art I used the pencil tool on one pixel
width and made a warped teardrop shape to base the
flame from. From their I used the shading reference and a
picture of a match flame. This could be used In my final
product as a background animation to add to the
background of my game and too keep a flow of different
backgrounds on the final product.

4. The process that I used to create these still blocks for my puzzles was to pull up some real life pictures of puzzle
pieces and patterns. This helped in the creation of these assets as I used them as a layout for how I was going to
shade the blocks and what graphics I could design for the flooring or as an unspecified texture to be given a use
if I need it. I only used one layer in this set of assets as I didn’t think I would need to animate them. I have
created these to be puzzle pieces inside of my game. I made four versions of the squares in the centre as an
experiment with the colours and what would work best on a darker background. The ways I created this was by
using the bucket tool to fill in the background black, then using the pencil tool again I used the colour picker on
the right to alter a base background with different shades of the same colour to create a different set of patterns
and shapes for this set of four puzzle pieces. I created the wooden texture on the block to provide me with a
new sense of spacing and to inspire a few different background ideas for some of the puzzles and other parts. On
the squares I created I thought about playing around with the shades of colours that I had in the colour picker
and colour wheel inside of photoshop to create different patterns of colour. This experiment showed me how
different shades of the same colours can compliment the original but it can also offset it and create a very
unbearable effect on the block I was creating.

5. Reflection
I am going to include most of the animation techniques I used in these experiments as through
this experiment I know how to use them fully to my advantage and for them to not hinder me in
my production phase. For the final production of my product I am going to continue to use the
bucket and pencil tools to create both the assets and the levels for my game. This will be aided by
the research I have conducted and these experiments I have produced. I may use the fire
animation I have created inside of my game or make an animation that seems similar because it
would allow me a quick link back to this document in my final evaluation. During this process I
have found that during my production weeks I am going to struggle animating the movement and
ending of the puzzles as they are the weakest points of my experiments and my previous rotation
in the video games portion of this year. Because of this I am going to start creating the field
where the puzzles take place and the backgrounds of the puzzle screen. Doing this first should
allow me more time to create movement cycles and character animations and also allow me to
go back and improve on both of those. At the end of that I should be able to then add sound
effects to the gif animation in premier which will include sounds for anything happening in the
background like burning fires or wood sliding across a floor. Using the tools and techniques I have
demonstrated I should be able.