Final Product

Here are the final drawings for the topic:











Here is the video for our final project. Enjoy!

Sketches

Here are the five sketches for our final ideation design which will be made into a video.

Essay

From the mind maps, we had to create an essay for our topic, Impact of Animation on Life. Here's the essay:

Animation’s Impact on Life

Animation is a way of life. Okay, maybe it is not, but shouldn’t it? We always see some form of animation everywhere, whether it’s on television, in the cinema, or even the Internet for that matter. Indeed, this unique form of communication and story-telling has come a long way from way back when Mickey Mouse made his first his first appearance. What is so charming about animation that it can be timeless and still be enjoyable when we step into adulthood? Perhaps it’s the way it can be a great entertainment when we slump on our couch on those boring days? Or is it because they are pleasing to the eyes and provide relief on those bad days where our computers malfunctions and we became overheated instead of them? What makes animation what it is?

Firstly, animation derives from a combination of drawings and movements. There are a lot of frames involved in just one single minute of animation (to be exact, 24). By seeing these stationary images come to life in a few flips of the papers excites us as we had created something. The modern era has revolutionized our animation into 3-dimensional where we no longer need the skills of drawing to animate, but rather, just by creating our images through the computer. Is this more satisfying and easier to do this form of animation, or is it just laziness and our dependence on our technologies that animation has now been more influenced by 3d rather than the traditional, hand-drawn animation? Whatever our preferences, seeing animation will always be a different experience than seeing real life people act it out on screen.

However, why is animation so important now? It has become one of the most staple parts of the creative multimedia industry. Why can’t we just tell stories through live-action, filming actors and such? There is a reason for this. With animation, we can just imagine anything to be possible, from a lovable kitten who is friends with a vegetarian vampire to a leprechaun which is a mythological creature from Ireland. True, we can just do it with costumes and special effects in live-action, but the important thing is the believability. With live-action, you would know that everything is done with special effects and costume. But with animation, it’s like you are transported into another world, because everything looks different from the real world. You are made to believe that everything in the animated world is true, at least within the context of that world. You can sum it up by saying, with animation, we can create a whole new world (reference to an animated movie, Aladdin) with new characters and tell stories, through the way we animate and move them, physically and with facial expressions.

Another great impact of animation is one the current lifestyle of today’s youth. Japanese animation or anime as it is widely known is great evidence of this effect, as we can see from fashion, social skills and even character-building. Anime provides a lot of insights to clothing designs that makes it more desirable for fashion designers to create, like Victorian-style dresses which may have been old-fashioned, but now is thought of as wonderful and sweet thanks to the way the Japanese interpret it in some animes like Kuroshitsuji. Additionally, the young adults of today who represents the majority of anime fans takes after some Japanese style of socializing based on the animes they watch like the way they talk, show affection and move away from developing a stereotypical character.

On the same token, animation also has provided numerous job opportunities to eager artists. Thirty years ago, nobody would have considered animation as a serious industry. They probably thought it was just nice to look at, but never considered to join in the production. Now, it seems everyone involved in creative multimedia is trying to get their hands on animation. What is so appealing about this industry? For one thing, most people would relate this to something fun and colourful. Why bother doing a boring routine at work in the office when you can make doodles and draw without having the boss trying to give you death stares at work?

Education might not be the first thing people would relate with animation, but it is proven that some animation productions do provide some educational messages and knowledges. For example, animes like Hetalia is reinterpretation of the world war history, but explained in a funnier and light-heartedly through human characters as the countries. TV shows like Playhouse Disney makes the world go round for kids and teaches them how to build new friendships mutually and also moral values. Moreover, animated films like Disney classics also provide messages that can be applied in real life such as being brave, honest and forgiving.

To sum it all up, animation has left a deep impact in our lives. It plays various roles like story teller, lifestyle changer, work provider and even a teacher. In our opinion, we consider animation as one of the most important aspect in our lives and we envisioned that it will become an essential part of our future and may carve it into something magical, wonderful and can be enjoyed by everyone, even by those hardcore adults who think animation is for kids. Though recently, more and more adults have come to have soft spots for animations. Hence, this current situation is a sneak peek to our glorious future when animation will take over the entertainment industry.

Mind Map for Project

Here's the drafts for the mind maps.



We used random words association for the mind maps and tried to connect as many words as possible to the topics, creative multimedia and animation in life.

Randomization

Hmm, ever wonder if a kitten is scary? No? Why not? Even if it's cute and furry and cuddly and... well, there's nothing to be scared of, right? No? Oh well. Let's try to scarify a harmless kitten.

Kitten - Furry
-Has sharp teeth and claw
-Big eyes that glow in the dark
-Lets out meows that sounds disturbing at times.

Let's not forget, a kitten embodies innocence. Which usually means we don't like to see the kitten cruelly tortured or killed. Those images can haunt our minds for the rest of our lives. How could I forget a certain video regarding a tall woman with heels cruelly stepping on an innocent kitten and slowly killing it, for a FETISH?

Anyways, before I go on about animal cruelty, I won't forget the purpose of writing this blog post. What if you want to create a scary image from a kitten, to keep people away?



Yea, won't you run away if you saw this sign? Big eyes usually aren't that scary but when they express anger and are looking at you, you might feel a bit of paranoia.

How about an entrance that looks like this? Surely people wouldn't think that entering a door that looks like a mouth of a dragon is a good idea?

Whatever that makes a kitten scary, whether it's the innocence or the traits, it is always a good thing to stay away from doors that look like this, or signs that watches you like a hawk.

Juxta-what?

Hmm, ever wonder if you can compare pure simple love to chili? I know it sounds ridiculous, but hey, if you can compare life to ice-cream, then it's not impossible. Nothing is as long as you're crazy, I mean, creative. Here's my interpretation of love like chili.

equals to
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V

My love for you,
Is like chili to me,
You make feel hot,
And I love to have you every day,
But you also make me cry,
When I have too much of you,
Why do you do so?
But like nasi lemak and tom yam,
You are just too good to pass up.



Yeah, cheesy, isn't it? Anything metaphorical is bound to be hard to swallow by those who do not believe in pure cheesiness of sentimentality. But hey, why don't we just let loose and take whatever that has been given to us?

Or how about credit cards and life? What relation do both of these things have in common? Well, for one thing, credit cards are a pleasure or a luxury to behold. Life too, isn't it? Imagine us, the people and credit cards as souls and life. Souls are the ones who gain memories and experiences and take pleasures from life, just as people would with credit cards. But one thing with credit cards is that they cannot last forever. And so does life. Credit cards have their limits, so does life. One thing in difference however is credit cards have debts and can be paid off, while life does not. We only have one life, and so we must treat it like it's a priceless, irreplaceable treasure, not credit cards.

Hmm, how about coffee with love? Why don't I explain it with a simple poem?

Love,
Like Coffee,
Always a pleasure,
to wake up in the morning,
with it,
Every taste of you,
is a little bit of pleasure and
a little bit of bitterness.

Before I accidentally go into a coma because of all the cheesiness, let me just end this blog post by saying anything is linked as long as you open your mind, right?

Caught Between a Rock and a... rock

Well, what's mortar and pestle? That was the question I was frustratingly trying to answer before class until I got the answer: 'batu lesung' as we say it in Malay. Duh. Used to crush food, herbs and other organic crushable stuff into powdery form to be used in cooking, medicine making and well... drug-making, I suppose, for those of you 'creative' enough.


But oh no, no, no, mortar and pestle that exists in the future (or Crazy Psychotic Insane Era, as I'd like to call it) does not have that function whatsoever. In fact, this is what I imagine what I want to do with mortar and pestle if I live in the future and mortar and pestle (or M&P, to make it easier and less tiring to type). Yes, I do not care for the well being of others when I have M&P, I'll just go nuts with them for my own personal satisfaction.


First, M&P can be used as weapons. The pestle will be tied to an unbreakable, strong wire that connects with a glove that you can wear on your right hand (sorry, lefties). Thus, the pestle can now be swung and controlled its speed, force and distance from the target.

The mortar can be used as a body shield. However, the mortar has to be custom-made so that it can cover the whole upper body (technically, putting a mortar in front of your upper body only covers, like, 25% of your body and will most likely not protect you from harm). It is strapped on with strong leather straps that you can wear around your body and adjust the tightness, you know, like a bag pack or something.





Or if you're seriously a bored/crazy/brave but stupid person, you can try playing 'Balance the Mortar on the Pestle' game. Forget physics law, forget rationality, forget being smart! For once, do something no one else in their right mind would. Try to balance the technically heavier mortar on the limb pestle and see how long you can go. Play this with your other idiotic friends (or jackasses, as it has been officially claimed) and see who can go the longest.
Play with this caution as the possibility of the mortar falling on your toes or head is 99.9% and you might end up with a broken foot, concussion or dead. Have fun!




And thirdly, with a grim face I put on, it has been reported that some disciplinary teachers actually used mortar and pestle as a punishment for some problematic students. The method? Ordering the students to place their hands on the upside down mortar and hitting them with the pestle. The humanity! Though there have been some justifying claims that the disciplinary teachers only did this as a threat, some 'victims' (students, mind you) complained and reported to the police that there have been some poor kids who got their hands broken. When asked, the disciplinary teachers can only comment, "No comment".

Hey, they make great torture items, don't they?