Infinity Glasses Project

Infinity Eyewear

This is a side project i am working on where a client approached our college and asked if there were any students available to create some work for him. He wanted a 3D model of a pair of new glasses he is thinking of making and trying to sell. He will need the 3D model so that he can show his potential buyer what it will essentially look like with out having to spend too much money on actually making the finished product. 

The idea for the glasses is that they will have lights and mirrors inside the lenses and that this will give and infinite lights effect but will still be visible through the lenses so the person wearing the glasses will be able to see the world with a ring of infinite lights around there vision.

He came into visit and i asked what it was that he was specifically after:

Purpose: Novelty for clubbing and nightlife scene. But with a high end style, smart and looks good.

Srtyle: Potentially aviator style glasses, rim as thin as possible (baring in mind lights have to go inside).

Blueish tinted lights, rame colour preferably black and frame as thin as possible.

black environment background preferably, if not then grey

He would like an interactive VR so that the client can spin and turn the glasses model round and see a full 3D view of the product

He would like stills and style frames sent off to see how things are going

Styles of Glasses (image refferences) :

Researching potential frames. This pair has a gap in the frame above the nose (potentially where a battery could go)

                                                                                                                                                                            Style sample idea for the 'clubbing' novelty wear the client was talking about being the purpose for the glasses. 

Environment and display research ideas:

The client discussed how he wanted the glasses, although being made for novelty purposes as they will be for a just bait of fun, to look high end and good quality. One way this can be reflected as well is through the environment that the glasses are situated in when being displayed. I googled some ideas from how apple have displayed their phones in advertisements and they generally seem to use minimalist backgrounds which have no other elements to distract from the product and are often either a black or white background with some use of shadow. 

Infinity style lights:

This is what the client wants the inside of the glasses lenses to look like. The wearer of the glasses will be able to see these lights around the edge of their vision but will also be able to see through the centre so its gives a triply fun effect for the person wearing the glasses. 

Existing product that is similar to what the client is looking for:
(the style of this product is goggles though)

https://learn.adafruit.com/bluetooth-neopixel-goggles/overview

                

i used this image of glasses i found online that resembles the shape of aviator glasses as this is what the client mentioned they wanted as a style reference and this particular style i found is a bit chunkier take on the style of the aviator and so would be more likely the possible outcome with regards to considering the need for space on the glasses for a battery and for the lights etc.
i then altered the colours on photoshop so the distinction between the shape of the glasses and the background are more noticeable and easier for me to use as a template in cinema 4d to make the glasses model from.

This is when i opened them up in c4d as an image to use.

I then started to make the apes of the glasses  using the reference picture as a shape indicator`:

These are a few of the versions of glasses styles i made for the client to choose from :

Aviator style (slightly chunkier than original aviator style still with regards to the arms and the frame of the lenses) this version i made with a low nose bridge ark:

The arms are thick with this style of glasses as i have placed the battery inside the arm.

These are some images of the glasses of a similar style to above but with a higher bridge ark (i also added nose pads onto this one so that the lenses wouldn't be so low on the face when worn due to a very high nose ark

And i also made a version that would have the battery in the middle section between the lenses i shaded this a slightly different colour to highlight its prences but this could be changed to any colour or made as just one full block. I made the arms smaller on this one to show that this can be done if the battery is not in the arm:

After showing the client these styles they mentioned that they liked the aviator style glasses and the goggles style glasses

Changing the colour of the nose pads:

(video moves very quick because it is a VR converted into a video. however this shows how i have tested the angles and the height of the camera and the number of steps of each angles (the more steps there are the less twitchy it looks when you move it).

          



          



          



         


This has been a good side project to work on as it has given me experience of actually working for a client, with regards to sending them models and style sod the glasses and receiving feedback and making alterations with regards to how they want the model to look until we arrive at a final conclusion that the client is happy with. It has also given me chance to work on my cinema 4d skills and experiment with using VR animations (which i could not upload onto my blogger account but i will include in my hand in).
This has also helped improve my time management as i have deadlines for handing in the work for the client and i have had to manage my final project management and this side project together (as it meant taking on extra work to deal with this project for the client).

Steven Swanborough Visit And Work Crit

Steven Swanborough a freelance motion designer came in to my college to talk about his work and his experience with getting into the industry to my class as he is a student from stockport college on the motion design studio in 2011. 

He showed us the presentation he held at the last Glug event held in manchester which is an event held ever so often for the local design and creative community. He explained how he defines himself as more of a generalist than a specialist as he works with all ranges of design platforms and techniques instead of just specialising in one area (this is probably something that also helps with his freelance work and flexibility). 

He spoke about how his show reel from university has changed so much looking where he has come to now and said that we just need to keep working even if we don't feel fully self reliant at this point with regards to skills. 

We also spoke about about looking and asking for work experience and for jobs and he mentioned that manchester is a very friendly design community and that we shouldn't be put off searching for opportunities within the industry and spoke about how he went round places with his cv that he had screen printed to make it stand out. This is something i could consider with my cv or to consider presenting my work or getting my work shown in a way that stands out.  

Another thing he told us about that inspired me was when he explained how he got a job at the neighbourhood (a studio in manchester he worked with since he graduated university before he became  freelancer). He explained that the day after his deadline day he went round to 15 studios handing out his cv and showreel and as he was doing so invited people to his final year show, which kind of would give him a second opportunity to grab their attention as well and have a chance to speak to them in more informal relaxed environment whilst still showing the work. This is something i am going to do when my final exhibition is drawing near as i thought it was a very clever way to gather more of an audience for the show. The neighbourhood ended up hiring him for paid internship and then hired him full time from there, so he was able to get a job practically straight from graduating university which is something i would like to try and achieve (or some kind of placement set in place). 

I should also after having this talk consider more about my attendance to animation festivals within the area and getting more involved within the community as steve mentioned that the majority of contacts and clients he now works with have been who he has met whilst at these events. He also mentioned that this is where animators come and discuss and share there work with each other so it is good for inspiration and to get to know the other people within the industry and becoming known. Motion north and Glug are two animation events that he mentioned were good to attend. 

I thought having Steve in for this talk was extremely helpful as it was good to speak practically one to one with somebody who was in the local industry as he has been stockport and manchester based and therefore his experience of traveling through the industry was closer to home and even started to help with getting to know and hear about the people in the existing community more. 

He also showed us some of the work he has done and one thing that stood kurt when he was discussing his work was when he mentioned that he decided to make a brand for himself to promote his work as this is something i have been considering doing. Perhaps setting up my own website to display my work and have a professional way of showing potential employers my work. I could link them to my website and have my show reel on the home page so that it can be the first thing they see to display my work to them easily but then after they have watched it they could travel around my website and encourage them to spend longer looking at work i have done/ showing my strengths to them. 

I then went onto find his website to have a look at how he has organised and designed the space to get some inspiration for when i come to do my own. 

When you click on the website link this is the first page that comes up. It gives you adoption link to go to his site and and option to click on the showreel, with a showreel of still of work he has made as the background images. He has also used his brand logo that he has m,are on this page and kept it simplistic. I like how this is simple and easy to navigate with out the user feeling like being on the website is going to eat into their time, yet still manages to persuade the viewer to have a longer look (with the option for the website link). 

On the website link there is then the portfolio page in which you can click on each individual project he has worked on and see a description of who it was made for and why and then the development of the work and some research etc (so showing work surrounding the pieces as well). this is good as it shows the amount of work that has gone into each project and gives chance to highlight more of what has gone into the projects. 

There is also an 'About' link on the website that gives information about him as a designer and what kind of work he does. I thought this was a clever way of showing this (by giving snappy titles to each section of work keeping it all quick and simple and stylised to read).

I also liked how on the clients link on the site he had put the logo brands of the clients he had used again making the page more enjoyable to view while still getting the information across (with as little reading as possible). 

Before Steve Swanborough spoke about himself and his work he had chance to look at some of the work i have done and the project i am working on so far and was able to give me some feedback on it.
He suggested that i shorten my silhouette forest piece or add more narrative which is similar feedback to what i have received previously from other designers and shows that this is defiantly something i should alter with this piece. He also suggested making the movements of my character animation smoother and less jolting which would make the flow of the piece look smoother, he also told me that my idea for the project i am currently working on is good and that considering i am using c4d to create the animation i should try and go for a more stylised approach as this would add interest and creative feel as well as uniqueness while also not highlighting my weaknesses with regards to the level of skill i have when using the programme.

sehsucht studio visit

                        SEHSUCHT

During my time i travelled to Berlin i visited Sehsucht a motion design based studio Where i met the senior producer Christopher Lenz. Who was kind enough to allow to me to visit and to talk to me about the studio and the work it has been producing he mentioned that they blend visual storytelling with technical innovation to produce captivating creative content.

Sehsucht was founded by Martin Woelke and Ole Peters in the year 2000, starting up with a focus on motion-design with the studio situated in Hamburg. Throughout the first decade the visual driven label has developed into multiple disciplines and positioned on a top level creating visual storytelling in the advertising industry.
The studio that i visited in Berlin started up in 2009, and the two work slightly separate with each other as they generally divide the work with the Berlin studio creating more creatively made graphics based work using after effects and cinema 4D and the studio situated in Hamburg creating more high end corporate style adverts with CGI effects using programmes such as Nuke. 

Some of the Hamburg studio work:

The work produced in the hamburg studio creates most of the CGI high vfx quality work as they use programmes such as NUKE to create these. The work is very impressive and is often made for recognisable clients such as audi etc. 

Client: Audi AG; Falco Münch
Agency: Razorfish
PRODUCTION: Stink GmbH
Executive Producer: Martina Lülsdorf, Julian Holland
Producer: Isabel Kast
DIRECTOR: Stephan Wever
DOP: Cezary Zacharewicz
CONCEPT & DESIGN: Sehsucht, Stink

The making of videos show just how much work and visual techniques have gone into these impressive and realistic 3D elements:

Pilot's Watch Series Making of from Sehsucht GmbH on Vimeo.
IWC - Pilot's Watch Series DC from Sehsucht GmbH on Vimeo.

When talking to Christopher about the work they produce and what goes on within the studio he spoke about how they mostly work within 3D and sometimes do sets however this is very rarely, he also said that they very early work with live footage and it all mostly digital work that they use and produce. This shows how their style and client base is mostly focused on digital and 3D work.
He also spoke about how they make their own storyboards as they have a team of people who have various skills and so they are often able to produce all their work from within their own team embers but they do sometime get freelancers in.

Character design made by sehsucht

He also explained how they will often test things out in real life before they animate and make something in 3D. For example with their paper world animation (although this was made in the Hamburg Studio, they would actually make things out of paper and see how they would move or fold etc to then have a better knowledge of how to animate it.
This is something i found helps with creating motion within my own work, as an example of this, when i was animation the stag in my silhouette animation i couldn't seem to get the movement and timing of the legs right when i was animating the stags legs to look like it was walking however when i used references to real stags walking and using other videos of walking stags as a trace reference in my work this made the motions look more realistic.

Paper world Animation: 

Deutsche Fernsehlotterie "Paper World" from Sehsucht GmbH on Vimeo.

(what i think about the appearance and layout of the studio, and compare it to what he said about hamburg studio and size difference more people working in the hamburg one.

Some of the pieces made in the berlin studio:
as i mentioned before Christopher said that the work they make in the berlin studio is more graphic based and focused on the creative approaches and methods to creative a narrative or the piece of work as opposed to so much CGI techniques. (however the do also do some CGI work themselves). 

Wir In Berlin EIN TAG IN BERLIN from Sehsucht GmbH on Vimeo.


Sennheiser Reshaping Excellence from Sehsucht GmbH on Vimeo.
This piece shows some of the more CGI effects they have done swell. (made at the Berlin Studio).

After one year of working on Sennheiser’s interactive Reshaping Excellence campaign, released the final stage launch on November 3rd 2015. Phase two of the project witnesses the completion of the monument to sound—a vast interactive sound-sculpture created over the past six weeks by over one million people worldwide. It is a supersensory odyssey that presents the formation of the monument in all its monolithic glory, and finally reveals it as the foundation of Orpheus; a personal sound experience unlike any other.

I also found out that a lot of their clients and work they have been producing recently has been moving more towards interactive work for clients that an audience can become immersed in, by using the likes of oculus rift and and playstation VR. This he said has altered how they make the work they have been producing as they have to consider making full environments that the viewer can look round instead of like if it was just a video, being able to cut to a new scene. One way he mentioned working round this problem is by adding objects to block some of the view so that they are not having to render giant landscapes just because it would be in the viewers sights. 

But this directional pull of demand for work shows an interesting course that the industry seems to be taking within the world of digital motion and may be something i will have to consider in my career path at some point.

This is the none interactive version of a piece of work they made showing the video of one of the pieces they have made as an interactive world for the audience using the oculus rift: 

(made in the Berlin studio)

SEHSUCHT uses Cinema 4D and the Unreal engine to create one of the first-ever interactive VR music videos.

Virtual reality is a hot topic in 2016. Various hardware manufacturers are introducing headsets that let enthusiasts immerse themselves in 3D worlds. The games industry in particular is creating products specifically for use with head-mounted displays that give players the feeling of being part of the world in which they are playing.
Berlin, Germany-based, animation studio SEHSUCHT is at the forefront with its first VR project: For its single ‘Reminder’, the band Moderat had director Mate Steinforth produce a VR video that takes the viewer on a spectacular trip through a gloomy, sinister world.
What is unique about this project is that the interactive VR video runs with the Unreal engine, which means that head tracking by headsets such as Oculus Rift is supported. The viewer can move freely in 360° throughout their journey through the surreal, bleak gray landscape while experiencing the virtual world with their own eyes. The story is about two humanoid beings who have to mine crystals in back-breaking work that they then present to a divine being as an offering.

The song’s lyrics and the visual interpretation are a perfect amalgamation.

Rachel Goodyear

Rachel Goodyear is an illustrator who has exhibited her work in the uk and internationally. Her style of work is fine art and she specialises in drawing. She studied fine art at university and graduated in 2000.  I attended a seminar in which she was discussing her journey as an artist and her style of work and the path that she has taken within the industry.
She is self employed and says that she spends half of her time in the studio working on her pieces and half the time talking to curators and exhibitionists to get her work displayed and seen and other artists for guidance. She mention that her style of work has largely been using the media of pencil and paper as opposed to computers and that she did do mostly sculpture when she was studying fine art however over the years found that the media she loved the most was just pencil and paper and so this was what she was most passionate and true about when she was creating work.

She spoke about how she has a studio in the islington mill in salford which has been good for her as it has a huge artistic community, and so is a good breeding ground for inspiration and potential collaboration. She said that the community is not all just illustrators there are graphic designers and photographers etc and so there is a really good mix of art its that she is surrounded by. This could be something i could consider if i was going into freelance work as having a studio to go to motivates you more to actually get work done as opposed to working from home and then puting it off a lot and then the fact that you would be surrounded by other artists is a good foot in swell within the creative industry (collaborations etc) and could broader the circle of potential clients and job opportunities etc.

She said it is important to have a personal space for her to work in that she can plaster with her other pieces of work and her inspirations so that she is surrounded by inspiration and motivation to work permanently. This is something that i have found helps with my work as when i am conscious about passing through my environment i find things all the time that actually inspire the project i am working on and to help me things of things to add, just in my day to day life.

She also mentioned how whenever she had chance to she would immerse herself in her work which i think is a good point to keep in mind as she mentioned how when she was working her part time job in the cinema she would draw on cinema tickets little doodles etc whenever she had chance to and then she would take these home and evolve them by spending more time on a drawing that was inspired by these quick small doodles.

She said that her style of work is defined more as fine art as she likes to show a fragment of a narrative, but that is it and the rest is left for the audience to fill in the gaps. Her main style of work she does not include a background and so the viewer is left with just a  rather surreal images of various characters doing often quite bazaar or intriguing things and then that is all the viewer can take from it. A fragment of a situation, a small section of the larger story but still so intriguing is that small piece of information that there is lots of room left for the imagination to wonder from it.

she says that her work shows beauty swell a sadistic nature and is often playful but also sinister, so shows a very mixed range of emotions present in her work making it strong and appealing, and each of these emotions kind of balance each other out. 

In 2009 - 2011 her work started to get more professional as she was working with gallerists who do all the job searching for her and so this gave her more time to focus on creating pieces and not worrying about find places to exhibit her work. And the gallerist who specialises in this job was able to find her much more work than she would on her own. So her career started to take off. 

This shows the balance between doing things yourself and hiring others to help even the work load for you as within the motion design industry many designers often will hire freelancers to help with a project with various aspects of the project be it storyboards to show a client or even to help with parts of the animation itself. 

She spoke about the positive outcomes she experienced from paying to attend an artists residency in Germany in a beautiful mountain environment. She said that environment she stayed in was set up so that you would meet the other artists staying there and that because it was out of the way and in a beautiful landscape it was a very inspiring place to develop new ideas and pieces of work within.  She said whilst she was here she started to push herself with regards t her style of working and her comfort zone and started to make pieces that showed a bit more narrative than she usually does and created scenes of animals within an environment with numerous characters so that the fragmentation narrative that she usually shows became lots of fragments together meaning that the story of her work was building. 

This was one of the pieces she made while in the residency:

and more of an in depth narrative can be seen is this piece swell with regards to how the canvases are placed together and how all the characters interact with each other and the environment that has been drawn around the characters. 

This piece was inspired by looking out into the scenery that the residency was surrounded by and she was imagining the inhabitants of the area. 

after this piece she started breaking her own personal rules more and breaking boundaries within her style as she started experimenting with using backgrounds more but trying to make the narrative more elusive like she used to in her work. This is something i should push myself to do within my own work swell as staying in the comfort zone can make artists lazy or not allow them to truly discover their creative potential. 

She then  went on to talk about the animation she has incorporated into her practise. She said that this has become an important part of her work swell since she started doing this as she makes looping gif animations of her drawings and she says that it is like a fragment of an event or motion narrative locked in time forever. 

One of her animations examples:

 
Hypnotist (Octopus) 2013 from Rachel Goodyear on Vimeo.

She said that with her animations she played with the idea of layering things up and it made her think more about how she displayed her work and making installations instead of just hanging frames up on a wall. She used projections of her animations onto still drawings to college work together.
I should also consider how to display my own work for my final exhibition and could also look into using projector and even collaging pieces of my own work in unique ways that engage an audience instead of just having a video on a screen hanging on a wall.

Another piece of inspiring advice she gave in her talk was that sometimes it can be very difficult to make yourself come up with an idea and that as an artist there is pressure to make yourself do this sometimes. She said ways to help with creative block can be to walk away and then come back to the work later after you have cleared your mind or to just doodle absent mindedly and try and create something from that but also to immerse yourself with inspirations such as other artists work. Or even just writing something quickly without thinking and making something based on that, she also said that she keeps a dream book that she always writes in and refferes to as inspiration every now and then.

To stay focused and motivated within the creative industry she says that an artists does also need to keep a sense of playfulness about their work and to not worry about making mistakes every now and then and letting some of their work not look so perfect all the time, as these mistakes can push yourself to new boundaries and let you learn from your journey as the work style progresses or goes back to an older style etc. (just going through the motions will not be the most powerful work you will make and this will be present within the work you make, passionate work radiates the passion that was put into it).

Some of her most recent work showing how the work has progressed and changed, you can she how she has used college techniques and background presence but still retains that fragmented narrative style: