Major: Reflective Statement

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There have been many hardships and emotions that I have experienced when completing the Major project. To say it was difficult is a bit of an understatement, but on the flip side, it has been satisfying to see the progress that I have made in the past few months. 

There are many things that I wish I could change about this project as I feel that my abilities to animate and produce a short film are not up to scratch when thinking about it in a professional manner. There are still many things that I need to learn to be able to reach my personal goals and there have been times when I doubted my capabilities as an artist and animator. I have caught myself wondering whether I am good enough to enter this industry at times. But I do still try and remind myself that I did the best that I could despite the pandemic and how that effected my productivity and mental health. This is something that I’m constantly working on so that I can better look after myself in the future which will hopefully lead to better outcomes in my work.

As for the work that I have produced, it’s difficult to describe how I feel towards it. While I am proud that I managed to create half of the animation that I planned initially, I am also frustrated that it was only half and not more. I also feel I could do better with the animation of my characters, as they feel a bit clunky. I plan to continue with this animation in hopes that I may complete it in time for the graduation show. I initially intended to make the environments 2D but thinking about it now, I feel it may be more impressive if it was made 3D instead, but the timescale for this project meant that I didn’t allow myself enough time for that. I believe that one of my takeaways from this project is that I am very confident in my modelling abilities and I am very pleased with the appearance of my props and characters, so that could be a potential avenue to explore within the industry and a goal to work towards when creating my portfolio.

As stated before, it’s difficult to pinpoint how I feel about my work throughout this project. One the one hand I am a little disappointed that I didn’t do as well as I’d hoped, but on the other hand I am proud of how far I’ve come as a student and hopefully as a professional. I need to remind myself that even though my abilities aren’t up the standard I have created for myself, what I am capable of now is a huge leap forward compared to last year. I can only continue to improve from here.

My plan going forward now is to hone my skills as a modeller and perhaps continue to learn as an animator and artist. I look forward to what the future brings.

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