For my title design, I have chosen to do either an opening or an ending. I still need to get the final idea of which it would be better with according to the style I am choosing. If you've ever seen The Last Unicorn, you know the type of stylization I wish to achieve. Here is the link in case you are unaware of what it looks like.
I found all the stock footage I would need if I choose to use already painted images and then animate from them. However this may not get what I want so unfortunately I may have to copy/cut/change some images or just make my own to imitate the style. Here are a few images that I found from various artists who have done illustrated books for the movie, The Hobbit. Which is in fact, the movie that I wish to make a title design for, the old animated film, The Hobbit. Alan Lee is probably the more notable one, but david wenzel has a bit more happy undertones to his images. The animation is a bit more on the dark side, and the character designs aren't the most smooth lined (as animated characters you'd see today on tv). So if I find a happy medium when doing this animated story title design I feel I will have the best outcome.
Here is my video of my updated animation. I cut out the glowing orb to show the writing effect of coffee and company. Not that much of a change, but it does make a difference. I wasn't able to find a good sound in the short time so I opted out of that. Id rather have no sound at all than have sound that doesn't mesh well and makes the project weird.
With my background I took a generic image and adjusted it to work with my logo.
From this:
To this:
As for the animation aspect, after some trial and errors I settled on the various effects in the final version. I had tried the pen tool and all types of fractal noise and vector blurs mixed with masks. The outcome wasn't quite what I hat intended so I chose to go with the ever classic lens flare. Somewhat does the trick without going overboard.
And here is a really bad experiment I tried, I was testing it out on a different layer to see how well it would work to "flash" the letters in. After some few hours, I realized that it would not do the trick and the idea was scrapped. http://youtu.be/9KP8I8_fUSE
I tried to get a flow down with the trick I plan on using with After Effects. I thought of using the pen tool and using an effect, but after some research I found another trick. All I have to do is use an original psd file with various layers of lines, and the brush tool. Tweek the settings around and adjust the start and end time with keyframes and I have myself a better way to get the outcome I desire.
I may have to adjust the timing and stretch a few things out, the letters kinda write a little too fast I think, but the overall idea is down and it wasn't that hard to achieve it.
So, here is my logo animation without the vines but with the letters spelling themselves out.
Here is an updated storyboard, completely getting rid of my old one, and starting fresh. This is actually a logo I found for a coffee shop in nearby Elizabethtown, PA. The overall design of the logo was appealing to me, and I saw a lot of potential for turning this into an animated logo.
This would be at the end of a commercial, possibly showcasing what group or function would be held for the upcoming week.
Here are some other logos that had a good visual in my head for a logo animation.
The blue mountain would have the lines by coffee and and the soft lines come out from the center.
Angel coffee would have steam rising and the wings adjust up and down, to stop and have AngelCoffee appear.
Isaac's would have one of 2 things happen: paint splat in the 4 colors and drip to the final logo - or the flamingo would spin and the logo would be there.
With Perk's the letters they would write themselves like the folklore one, and the stars would twinkle, settling into the final logo.
Here is my logo animation sequence for CLN ENT. I decided to go with this logo, as it has more options and had a better visual in my mind. I added the old logo with this, to show what the color and style scheme would be like, granted the liquid is off on the wrong side this will be adjusted.
I have chosen to do a simplified logo for tm2studios, my little crafting corner of the world. Brief explanation of this logo is this: it's a cat, with a fish in it's mouth. The name "tm2" stands for tuna melt the second, a joke running long and strong of an old friend of mine who's nickname was tuna melt. Don't ask. I named my computer after her, again joking, and it seemed to stick. So when I came up with a goofy unique name for my studio that I go to art shows with and use, all I could think of was this. So, here be my discussion.
I have chosen to do a Show Opener, as this would be the beginning logo for a website. My logo is that of a cat, holding a fish bone in it's mouth. When it shows on the stage, it will mew and pick up the fish on the ground, holding it in it's mouth. The logo will then change to a lined style of the image. This logo can be cute, playful, quick, and it will also house the name of the studio as well at the end. It will have design elements as well as animation elements.
Here is an old old old card that I used, one that has the outline of the cat, similar to what I will be using. I also have a logo that I have created for a friend, that I could alter to a more animated feel.
I've always had various dreams as a child ranging from an apocalyptic future to vampires drinking strawberry lemonade. There have been drawings made and stories written from some of my dreams, and inspiration of what not to eat, watch, or read before going to bed. I was around the age of 12 when I was finally able to control my dreams, realize when that shark infested pool was dangerous or knowing that the dark woods were where the bad wolves were. There was a lot of blood and pain in my dreams including waking up sore or bruised, making me learn to control said bad dreams. And thus, here is a dream that I would have when I was younger.
I would be traveling with my family over the narrows (a section of a road back home that was on the side of a cliff with rock to one side and drop off cliff leading to the river 350 ft below) and all of a sudden the road would give way and we'd miss the bridge that in reality wasn't there. The car plummeting to the waters below the whole time my family not taking it as a bad thing, but me on the other hand...I was screaming. Then the car would disappear and I was in the water, alone, trying to make my way to the surface. I could feel that my family was safe, on the shore somewhere, but I was still struggling. Feeling that I was getting close to the surface, I could hear voices of NO! and STOP! Upon reaching air I saw whey they were screaming...a motor boat was racing towards me. I would duck under the water again, dodging the churning motor. Again and again I would try to reach the surface, only to have the boat racing towards me. So....I tried to race for it. I would angle towards the shore, and swim. swim swim swim but to no avail I could never make it before the motor clipped me. All I felt was pain and blood swirling around me as I didn't feel my arm anymore. I sank to the bottom of the river, then woke up. My arm that got chopped off was numb, and I was soaked in tears and sweat.
Morbid, yes, I know, but all it could have been was simply my arm fell asleep and it was a hot summers day. Shrug.
For the project of Rhythm all I could think of were drumbeats and heartbeats at first. Then I thought of exploding letters and other fun complex ideas. Due to my lack of experience in After Effects, I chose to go the safe route after hours of attempting various ideas.
Here are a few shots from my progress:
And here are my 2 rhythm projects, done in flash and then in after effects. Flash was more of a musical approach, hearing a drumbeat in my heat as I worked. The after effects project is more of a heartbeat, as I tried many other ways to create said heartbeat, this one seemed to play out the best.
Ello! Here be my first entry for the class known as Sequence Motion and Communication! By the looks of things there will be many more entries posted here, as well as more thought-out designs and color schemes.
