With a grand total of 298 frames (!) here is my latest animated badger culling ad campaign. Although it doesn't look much, a lot of technical skills went into this.
Created in Photoshop and saved as a low resolution gif.
Due to the number of frames, I was unable to save the file at a higher resolution. Therefore, I will need to find a program which can take much larger files and perhaps a quicker way to make the animation.
Even so, I do think that animation has a positive effect on the ad campaigns by simply keeping the viewer interested until the end. Movement has a greater ability to capture the eye, and with stronger imagery and colour the ad could become very effective.
After my initial experiment with Gifs in an earlier post (see here) I decided to explore this further in Photoshop as opposed to using an online generator to create my gifs:
I chose to use a simple slogan 'stop the cull' which I have previously included in previous campaign poster designs about badger culling. Keeping the font and colours the same for simplicity works well and gets straight to the point.
As I felt the previous gif wasn't smooth as an animation, I wanted to break the text down so it flowed better.
To create this animation, I saved each frame at different points adding one letter per frame giving the illusion that the text is being written. In total 11 frames were used to make this gif.
The same technique in Photoshop was used here though I added more frames (71 in total!) by including some experimental artwork that I had created. Changing the opacity allows a smooth transition into the next image.
Photoshop screenshot of frames used to create gif animation
Although this implies that it is advertising against the cull, it would not work in a realistic advertising scenario as more information needs to be included. This gif explores the techniques which may be used in the animation to portray numerous images simultaneously.
Personally I believe these techniques have worked effectively and make the illustrations more aesthetically appealing to the audience. Movement in the animation will capture the attention of the viewer for much longer than a still illustration as the changing images make it more interesting. More professional elements could be added for an advertisement against badger culling and perhaps a narrative of the badger cull could be portrayed to demonstrate the effects of the cull and why the audience should appeal against it.
Using an original charcoal sketch I developed the initial idea into an ad campaign designed for billboards. This was based on the fact that during the cull, the aim is the cull 70% of badgers. Therefore I chose a simple idea to get straight to the point and convey the message to the audience.
Animated Gif
I believe is effective for showing the capability of what I could achieve through using a gif format. It instantly brings my illustration to life and makes it visually more appealing. More frames should be used to create a smoother animation and the text could be gradually written rather than appear as one block.
As one of my final development ideas I decided to look into a current example of biomimicry. I chose to focus on the innovative invention of the 'Flex-Foot' by Van Phillips, who was inspired by the hind leg of a cheetah. Phillips focused on this invention as he had lost a leg himself due to an accident in his early years and was determined to run again.
Therefore, I painted a short storyboard with watercolours, defining the image in pen, to see how I could morph the inspirational cheetah into its product of biomimicry.
The main focus of the storyboard imagery was the wash and transition of colour and the shape of the cheetah morhing into the athlete. I kept the shapes as simple as possible, avoiding detail to make the images more abstract and unique.
Below is a very short animation of how all the slides look together. (0.2 second gap between each image)
Overall I am happy with this technique. Even though my drawings were originally meant as roughs, I feel that the abstract versions work well and are more interesting in the sense that the audience have to think more about what is happening.
A longer animation made up of several abstracted images could be used as a final piece, presented on one or more of the televisions in the 3M Buckley Innovation Centre. The vibrancy of colour meets the brief of the client who asked for the building to be 'brightened up'.
The first animation Lindley showed was 'Lightening Bolt', a stop motion made from around 3000 photographs, all made from cardboard. The amount of skill and technique used to make this short animation is just simply compelling. I also love the bright use of colour which has been used as it makes the animation fun and lively, emphasising the detail and effort which has been put in to create each frame.
After seeing the rest of Lindley's lecture, it soon became apparent that he has a very unique style which consists of very fast-paced graphic animation. He appeared very passionate about his work and doing something you love rather than settling for anything less satisfying.
"If you ever stray from your
work
just crack on and do it" - Jonathan Lindley
Lindley also went on to talk about his final year at the University of Huddersfield. He advised us to email companies which interest us and explained how in his final year he took a risk and that is the point where he began to create animations- his first ever animation was a flip book which he started in his third year at University.
"Do something you can see yourself doing in future" - Jonathan Lindley
Overall, I enjoyed Lindley's presentation and it definitely made me more confident about getting my own work into the real world and realising there are many opportunities out there! I think I need to start contacting companies which I may want to work for in future and see what options are available. It was particularly nice to have a graduate from the University speak to us as it makes a dream seem like more of a reality!
