Because my parallax animation proved incapable of handling a masked layer on top of all the rest, I started a new Flash project to serve only that purpose. It is a Plesiosaur with flailing fins, with an underlying skeleton revealed by a moving circle. Simple, interesting (to me), and fairly quickly made. I am happy with this animation. I learned a lot about planning, and devious use of Fireworks to modify JPGs, since Flash leaves a lot to be desired in that way.
I think this animation meets its criteria well. It took me about 3-4 weeks, though not longer than expected, and certain parts proved more difficult than I thought they would; namely, making the plesiosaur skeleton JPG that I got online fit the outline drawing I'd made, and figuring out exactly which layers to put above and below the mask.
I am most proud of the concept, which I personally enjoy, and my relative efficiency in completing it.
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
project animations 1
I was supposed to make a short animation demonstrating parallax and use of masked layers, among other factors. Instead, I made two.
I started with an animation that ended up taking me a total of 4-6 weeks. Most of that time was spent completely unneccesarily on unassigned aspects of the animation. For instance, animating frame-by-frame the changing view of a snail being looked down upon, and the frame-by-frame changes with travel of a patch of grass. What this taught me was that flash is picky and finicky and difficult and doesn't like complexity. It wants everything to be free and clear and simple. As a perfectionist, this leads me down an endless spiral of obsessive frustration.
I think that I need to be more focused. I need to begin a project with a clear set of goals and a brief storyboard, and not elaborate on it. And most importantly, I need a clear idea from thge beginning of how I will go about making those things happen. Ultimately, I was dissapointed with the parallax animation, because it was sub-standard, met few of the project goals, took too long, and quickly bored me.
But I have to say, the snail looks pretty good.
I started with an animation that ended up taking me a total of 4-6 weeks. Most of that time was spent completely unneccesarily on unassigned aspects of the animation. For instance, animating frame-by-frame the changing view of a snail being looked down upon, and the frame-by-frame changes with travel of a patch of grass. What this taught me was that flash is picky and finicky and difficult and doesn't like complexity. It wants everything to be free and clear and simple. As a perfectionist, this leads me down an endless spiral of obsessive frustration.
I think that I need to be more focused. I need to begin a project with a clear set of goals and a brief storyboard, and not elaborate on it. And most importantly, I need a clear idea from thge beginning of how I will go about making those things happen. Ultimately, I was dissapointed with the parallax animation, because it was sub-standard, met few of the project goals, took too long, and quickly bored me.
But I have to say, the snail looks pretty good.
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