Reflection

How do I feel about how it is going?

The process of making the models has been extremely tiring, and I severely underestimated how many I would have to make. I'm proud. of all the models I've made though, because they're all working as intended and are sturdy enough that nothing will really pull it apart. I am a bit worried about the Stan model because he is long in shape and so the model will always be frailer in comparison to Wispy. So I have taken to storing them in a box as opposed to a sleeve for better safekeeping. I have been recommended to use bigger models by printing my assets bigger. This was incredibly frustrating because I had already begun the process of making the models, but I did print some bigger ones out and admit they are much more efficient. The bigger ones printed in A3 allow for more leniency for when I make mistakes in the cutting because they're so big, the parts have more mass so it's not really obvious if something is missing a small chunk. the bigger ones are also easier to maneuver so I think for the actual filming, I will use the big ones so the camera doesn't have to be as lowered which also allows me more space to move assets around more comfortably during filming.

What am I learning about materials and processes?

Printing paper is soft and flexible, which makes it easy to cut and stick together compared to a thicker and rougher paper like colored paper or cardboard, but because it's much shinier, it's a lot more reflective which could be a problem during filming. Still, I have chosen to make everything out of paper because it saves a lot. of time if I could just print everything out and repeat a similar production process to create my character models and sets.

What have I learned about how I like to work as an artist/designer?

I like to be quick because I want to maximize the amount of work I could do within a fixed amount of time. I want to be able to create something to the best of my abilities, but because I am quite inexperienced, I often find myself cutting corners which can come to affect me later. During production, I initially planned to draw everything out, print it all then cut it all. But once I started, I realized how hard it was to draw all the assets because it actually required a lot of thinking to remember what parts of the body should or shouldn't be connected because they may or may not be moving within a given scene. I also have to remember about using the same model but making minor changes to their structure, most often that being their hands as the same model may be used to perform two different actions like holding a glass or holding a plate. As such, by not drawing everything a the same time, I ended up going back and forth which got really confusing when I thought I had printed out everything but was missing frustratingly one asset. This would not be such a large issue if the cost of printing wasn't so much, at a certain point, I just had to compromise and use some of the already printed assets because it wasn't worth it to spend any more money. This unfortunately resulted in some models having weird proportions like a small neck with super board shoulders, or a big body with tiny hands.

Production

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