Animation 116: Drawing for Animation II

Course Information

 

Course Description:

This course teaches students advanced drawing skills and techniques to be applied to the development of animation sequences. The emphasis is on creating and developing characters and compositions that effectively support the storytelling. Topics include the creation of realistic and stylized character design, movement and interactions, as well as props, backgrounds, layout and effects.

Teaching and Learning Strategies:

  • You learn to draw by drawing. Expect to spend the majority of your time practicing the skills we cover. Keeping a sketchbook is required. That sketchbook will be submitted at the end of the quarter as a final project.
  • Feedback from the instructor is crucial to improving. Weekly assignments and projects will be returned promptly with suggestions, comments and information to help the student assess their progress.
  • Lectures are presented on video.
  • The lectures are cablecast on The College Channel (Channel 28 on the eastside and south King County). Check your Distance Education information or the class calendar for days & times.
  • Videos of the lectures can be checked out from the BCC Library. A DVD can be checked out for 48 hours, or viewed in the library.
  • You can order DVDs of the lectures from BCC Distance Education. Call Distance Education at (425) 564-2438. You can also email Liz Anderson at landerso@bcc.ctc.edu. There are rental and shipping fees for Distance Education courses.
  • Lectures cover the fundamental skills, techniques and rules of drawing. What the student learns relies on the use of those skills on the assignments and projects.
  • Lectures will be summarized on the Blackboard Vista class website. An outline of the lecture, reading assignments, drawing assignments and projects are part of each weekly module.
  • Modules are posted every Monday. Assignments and Projects are due on Mondays. This schedule is constant to help you plan your work times.
  • The class website will instruct you on how and when to submit assignments.

Planned Assignments, Projects & Activities:

  • Students will keep a sketchbook. Drawing from life, sketching out ideas or concepts and doodling in your sketchbook daily should become a habit for any animator.
  • During the quarter you will develop the elements for a single animated scene; through storyboard, character development, background to final animation. Each assignment and project is a step in that process.
  • A written competency exam will test your understanding of animation terms and concepts.
  • The final project will be the compilation of the elements you created for your animated scene.

Projects:

  • Project 1: Develop a storyboard from the provided script.
  • Project 2: Animate a character speaking dialogue.
  • Project 3: Animate a character from your chosen scene.
  • Final Project: The elements from your scene-storyboard, model sheets, backgrounds and selected parts of the animation compiled for evaluation.

Course Schedule:

  • Week 1: Character Development
  • Weeks 2: Story Development
  • Weeks 3: Character Design
  • Weeks 4: Dialogue
  • Week 5 & 6: Character Movement and Animation Principles
  • Week 7 & 8: Layout, Props and Location Design
  • Week 9: Effects
  • Week 10: Color, Composition and Staging

Submissions:

Your score on individual projects & assignments will be determined by grading criteria provided when the project is assigned. Please pay attention to the grading criteria and ask your instructor questions if you are uncertain about any area of the project instructions. You may NOT resubmit graded projects to earn a higher grade.

The weekly module will be posted each Monday. Assignments & projects will be found in the modules. Assignments and projects will be due the following Monday. Some projects will have a two week window.

Check the calendar for each due date.

Assignments & projects can be:

  • Mailed to the address at the beginning of the syllabus. Include a stamped, self-addressed envelope so that the work can be mailed back once graded.
  • Dropped off at the Business Division Office (A242) on the BCC campus. Include an SASE. All assignments will be returned with comments and suggestions.
  • Emailed submissions are NOT accepted unless prior arrangements have been made.
  • A URL address will be accepted for the final project/portfolio presented as your personal website.

Assignments will be returned using your enclosed stamped, self-addressed envelope.

Due Date

  • Drawing assignments & projects must be turned in or postmarked by midnight of the due day.
  • Assignments postmarked later than 7 days after the due date will NOT be accepted and receive a failing grade.

If possible, make copies of your work before submitting it to the instructor. Mail and paperwork can get lost or misplaced. Keeping copies protects you from those kinds of errors.

Instructor Contact Information:

Instructor: Craig A. Jones

E-mail: crjones@bcc.ctc.edu

Mail:    Business Division A242

            Bellevue C.C.

            3000 Landerholm Circle SE

            Bellevue, WA 98007-6484

 

  • I check my email regularly Monday-Saturday. Please include “ANIM 115” in the subject box. I also monitor the class website’s Discussions & Mail pages.

 

  • If you need to see me in person appointments can be made through my e-mail.

 

  • Things happen. If you have problems with grades, a work schedule or anything that affects your performance in class notify me ASAP. Given enough time we can solve most problems. But at the end of the quarter time shrinks. Minor problems become crises. Avoid that by being proactive in contacting your instructor.

 

Supporting Materials:

Textbooks:

The textbooks listed are required. They all are valuable lifelong references.

  • Cartoon Animation by Preston Blair (Walter Foster Publishing, ISBN #1-56010-084-2). This expanded edition of Blair's Animation is two books in one with more detailed information.
  • Human Anatomy Made Amazingly Easy by Christopher Hart (Watson/Guptill, ISBN #0-8230-2497-0). An easy-to-use reference for the human form.
  • Designing Characters for Animation by Brian Lemay (Self-published, ISBN #0-9699419-1-9).
  • How to Draw Animation by Christopher Hart (Watson/Guptill, ISBN #0-8230-2365-6) (this textbook was NOT listed for Animation 115)

Materials:

  • Sketchbook (9x12 or smaller) a general purpose sketchbook with 60lb weight sheets (50-100 pages)
  • #2 or HB pencils (softer if preferred)
  • 4H or 6H pencil
  • Pink Pearl, Art Gum or other block eraser
  • Ream of Typing, Copier or Printer Paper
  • 3-hole punch, round peg animation bar

Grading:

Departmental Philosophy on Grading: To survive and succeed in the information economy, a successful knowledge worker needs to be able to communicate clearly in written and spoken form, synthesize an understanding of scattered data, problem solve around obstacles, and work as a contributing member of a team. An employer wants to know that you can deliver and professionally present a completed project on time. An employer wants to know that you can do work that will stand out from the crowd. With this in mind, your instructor may grade aggressively. Average work typically should receive an average grade (B to B-). if your work exceeds instructor expectations and distances you from the average work other students turn in, it may receive an above average grade (A- to B+). Perfection earns a perfect grade (A). This approach is tough on the GPA. But count it as good practice for an industry that increasingly expects its workers to walk on water. Comparatively speaking, your instructor is the easiest grader you will ever get. The challenge should leave you with a competitive portfolio for a competitive workplace.

     Most of the projects in this course will reflect that philosophy. Projects will have a base set of criteria required to earn an average grade. An additional set of criteria or components may help move the project above average. As a student, your goal should be to reach the base criteria for the project first. Add components when you have obtained mastery. A less-than-average project that incorporates advanced components is still a less-than-average project. Learn to walk before you try to run.

 

Final Grades:

Grading will be based on a 600 point system. Since skill levels vary, grading will stress individual improvement over the course of the quarter. The final project and a final written exam will determine your competency.

·        Weekly Drawing Assignments (270 points possible on 9 submissions with a maximum of 30 points per submission).

·        Projects (180 points possible on 3 submissions with a maximum of 60 points possible per submission).

·        Final Written Exam (80 points possible)

·        Final Project (70 points possible)

Your final letter grade is determined by your scores on activities, projects and assignments. The final rough average will be used to determine your base letter grade:

94% (564pts.) and above earns an A

90% (540pts.) and above earns an A-

87% (522pts.) and above earns a B+

83% (498pts.) and above earns a B

80% (480pts.) and above earns a B-

77% (462pts.) and above earns a C+

73% (438pts.) and above earns a C

70% (420pts.) and above earns a C-

67% (402pts.) and above earns a D+

60% (360pts.) and above earns a D

59% (354pts.) and below earns an F

Copyright and Plagiarism:

This course requires you to have the rights cleared for any graphic, text, animation, video or audio material that you use in your assignments & projects. A limited set of rights cleared materials will be available in class. The source of all materials that are not your own creation must be documented and submitted with your project. Any undocumented or non-cleared materials will earn a failing grade for the project in question.

     Your personal projects are considered your intellectual property and copyrighted to you. Bellevue Community College retains the rights to use those projects for example and evaluative purposes.

 

Submissions:

     Your score on individual projects & assignments will be determined by grading criteria provided when the project is assigned. Please pay attention to the grading criteria and ask your instructor questions if you are uncertain about any area of the project instructions. You may not resubmit graded projects to earn a higher grade.

Miscellaneous:

Student Services:

The project work submitted this quarter may make use of your presentation, and writing skills to assess your understanding of the class content. If you need help with your writing skills, please make use of the Writing Lab in D-221 (425-641-2493). If you have (or think you might have) a disability that will have an impact on your learning, please take the time to register with Disabled Student Services in B-233 (425-641-248) within the first week of the quarter. In that way, you can properly notify your instructor of your disability and meet to discuss its implications on your class work or attendance.

Variations:

This class and syllabus are subject to announced variations in content and scoring from what is printed here.

Revision History:

9/18/2008 (Craig A. Jones) Syllabus for Offering of Animation 116.