final year. project 14
2D HAND DRAWN ANIMATION - JOURNEY BEYOND
date. 2023 (on-going)
size. procreate, adobe aftereffects, MAYA & logic pro
size. 1280px x 720px
description. “Journey Beyond” is a captivating 3-minute 2d hand-drawn animation that delves into the intriguing realm of afterlife from a fun and positionn perspective. The animation describes what a person would encounter in the after death, but in an abstract way. This animation takes viewer on a transformative journey through various stages of the afterlife, providing a glimpse into what awaits individuals beyond the mortal realm.
artist statement. Creating this animation has provided me with an opportunity to confront my fears and curiosity surrounding death and the inevitable loss of loved ones. Using my imagination, I hope to craft a visual representation of the afterlife that seeks to challenge the notion of death as something terrifying and dreadful. Instead, I aim to present it as a captivation and mysterious journey for the departing souls. By embarking on this creative endeavor, I hope to reshape my own perspective on death, transforming it from a source of sadness into something exciting and full of intrigue.
I have divided my workflow into a few phases: planning, composing, testing, modelling, drawing/animating, editing, and modifying.
Planning - Complete
For my FYP preparation during Semester A, I have decided to complete the planning and composing stage (and hopefully a rough animatic). I wanted to make the music first because it can act as an indicator for me to know how long each scene would last, and how much I would have to animate/draw for different objects. My planning phase involves mind-mapping, note-taking, and finding inspiration from everyday life. Here are some fragments of how I first started thinking about my FYP:
Recordinng & Composing - Complete
After coming up with a solid concept/idea for my FYP, I started to look for more references online and record raw/organic sounds for my composition/music. I tried using only organic sounds and no instrumental, but the sounds were way too repetitive and were not powerful enough to bring out the atmosphere I would like to portray. At the end, I included some loops and rhythm to the piece to brighten the mood a bit
After coming up a solid concept/idea of my FYP, I started to look for more references online and record raw/organic sounds for my composition/music. Here is all the tracks that I found, recorded and mixed for my 3-minute composition. Final tweaking would be made after I have completed my animation part, since adjusting the sound to sync with the animation would be a lot easier than adjusting the animation to the sound.
Test Animation - Complete
Here are some images of my test animations for Journey Beyond. I was having a lot of struggles in finding my style while creating this work. It is not hard to create good-looking pictures, but when it has to be animated frame by frame (12 frames per second), I have to work smart in order to be efficient. I have tried multiple styles and eventually gave up most of these below. 'Test Animation 2' is probably the animation style closest to how my final work would look like.
Below are the other test animations that I have given up. Most of them are outlines with very few colouring, it was a lot faster to draw but I feel like the style looks a bit too simple for a final-year project.
Other than having a consistent artistic style, colours also play an important part. These are the colours that I have chosen. The background is mainly dark brown, all the other colours in the palette complement well with the background.
Animatic - Complete
This is the animatic version (very first & super rough draft) of Journey Beyond.
Modelling - Complete
For some parts of the film where the dimension/camera angle is getting more and more complex, I used 3d modelling before animating. This is to make sure the physics and perspectives are reasonable, and I wouldn't have to redo the entire sequence when one small part goes wrong. The following are some examples of how I achieved certain scenes. I download some free 3D models online and further animate them in MAYA. Maya contains effects that correspond to natural physics in real life. For instance, the explosion of the deer is achieved using a disperse effect.
Animating/Drawing - On-going
I did all my animations using Procreate in my iPad. There are a lot of other software that is better equipped than Procreate, however, it is the software that I feel most comfortable using. Mainly because I used it for my final assignment during SM 2717 Abstract & Experimental Animation, which required us to create a 3-minute-long animation with three other people. I didn't like the final outcome for that assignment, but I am quite interested in creating abstract and weird visuals, that is one of the reasons why I chose to make abstract animation for my final-year project. I draw animations in terms of items and not scenes, I draw the items individually and combine all of the afterwards in Adobe AfterEffects. Below is how I organise my works.
Editing - On-going
I am currently at the stage of combining all the animation I drew with the soundtrack. The editing stage mainly involves moving the objects around and playing with different functions (scale, position, opacity, rotation etc) to ensure the animation goes smoothly and everything looks like they are i the same dimension. However, this is the part in which I encounter the most difficulties.
During the animating phase, I focused each animation on one object. And did not take into account that the objects would be interacting closely with each other, this has caused me to spend a lot more time adjusting and editing. Moreover, since I would also animate the movement of objects in the drawn animation, some of them would go out of frame. So when I edited them and made them move in and out of the canvas, sharp edges would appear and I had to make a lot of minor adjustments to hide away those flaws.
Below is how I organise my short animations.
Description of Scenes
Scene 0 - The Incident
The first scene explains how the person enters the afterlife. He was hit by a car during busy traffic. The title "Journey Beyond" appears.
Scene 1 - Documentation/Paperwork
The first stage in the afterlife is undergoing the paperwork before entering the Gates of Hell. In this part, I combined piano (instrumental) and sound you would normally hear inside an office. The visuals are mainly piano tiles going back and forth interacting with a checkerboard that resonates the typing sound at the end. The key is to not directly connect the sound to the object, but to transform it in a way that looks somehow related.
Scene 2 - Gate of Hell
The checkerboard is split in half, revealing the Gate of Hell. This gate leads him to the Yellow Spring Road, a haunting pathway that forbids crossers to look back. But before that, the person is guided by a group of animals. The quick movement of animals running resonates well with the chains that were bound on the crosser's hand. The chain sounds are stretched and manipulated as if we are going through a light tunnel.
Scene 3 - Yellow Spring Road
Once one enters Yellow Spring Road, he has to escape from the haunted spirits and creatures before getting to the next stage, Naihe Bridge. A small cat from the previous stage guides the person to get through of this crazy adventure, running anxiously on a forever-moving dinosaur scale. Trying everything he could to get out of this place, facing constantly falling and screaming from the back, trying to look forward and not distracted by the horrible screams and sounds behind him.
Scene 4 - Naihe Bridge
He finally gets to Naihe Bridge, suspended above the mystical Forgotten River filled with snakes. In this stage, the person would drink a soup that makes him forget about his past life.
Scene 5- Three-Life Stone
Before he forgets everything about his past life, he passes through the Three-Life Stone, a profound nexus where they are granted the opportunity to witness his past life for the last time. This ethereal experience allows them to reflect upon his actions and observe the current status of his family and friends. Going through a crater-like road, recalling memories as a kid playing on the swings. And receiving burnt paper money from his loved ones who are still living, leads the person to three huge buildings that resemble the Three-Life Stone.
Scene 6 - Judgement Day
After looking at the past, here comes Judgement Day, a pivotal moment where the soul faces the consequences of his earthly deeds. Here, he is subjected to punishment for his sins, serving as a karmic reckoning for his actions. Ultimately, the process paves the way for his final destination - reincarnation. He is being kicked into the Lift of Hell which contains 18 Floors, and he was finally realised at the Fourth Floor.
Scene 7 - Reincarnation
In this stage, the person is ready to accept his fate of what he is going to become. Based on how much good and how much bad he has done in his life, he is going to turn into a deer. The head of the person floats in the air, slowly transforming into different objects. First a woman, then a deer. The reason why I added the woman part is because this can be the afterlife of everyone, and not just for men specifically. The deer head is finally dispersed into small pieces, indicating that the process is complete.
This marks the end of this journey, but the start of another.
Modifying - On-going
I am now at the stage between editing and modifying. There will always be modifications after the editing stage because I will have to adjust the sounds and music with the visuals. But since this stage should be pretty quick, I am now focusing on making the animation smoother before moving on to do any modification.