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Month: April 2026
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WEEK9
In Week 9, I further developed my script and refined my concept scene images.
For the script, I focused on clarifying the overall narrative direction and the relationship between story and visuals. This stage was more about organising ideas, ensuring that the visual design is guided by the story rather than created independently.
For the visual development, I refined my concept scene images by adding more detail and improving the composition. Compared to the previous version, the scene feels more complete and closer to the atmosphere I want to achieve. Through this process, I gained a clearer understanding of the artistic style needed for the project, which will guide the next stage of development.
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WEEK8
Character Design：
Character Design
This week, I made initial progress on my Project One, mainly focusing on character design. I created an alien-like character and developed three different versions of the design based on the story. These variations represent changes the character goes through during the narrative. Each version differs in form and visual tone, helping to support storytelling and providing a clear direction for future animation work.
Character References：
Scene Design：
Scene Development
For the scene, I built a hand model and started to recreate a specific moment from the story. I arranged a rough layout and composition to explore how the scene might look visually. At the same time, I gathered references and explored different artistic directions to define the overall mood and style. Although this stage is still exploratory, it has helped me clarify the visual direction for further development.
Scene References：
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WEEK7
In Week 7, I continued refining my heavy project while also developing the facial animation further.
For the body animation, I focused on improving the timing to make the movement more physically believable. Previously, some joints were over-rotated, which made the motion look unnatural. This week, I corrected those issues so that the action works better within a realistic physical space. I also refined several details, such as adjusting hand placement to better reflect force and contact, adding subtle vibrations during the rebound to enhance the sense of weight, and improving the coordination between the torso and hips to make the movement more cohesive.
For the facial animation, the main issue was timing. My animation felt too even and lacked variation in rhythm. Techniques such as ease in and ease out, or fast-in slow-out, were not clearly applied, which made the expressions feel less natural. There were also some issues with keyframe spacing, resulting in slightly stiff performance. Moving forward, I need to introduce more variation in timing and improve keyframe distribution to create more dynamic and believable facial animation.
This week made me realise that timing is crucial for both body mechanics and facial performance. Variation in rhythm is what makes animation feel alive. In the next stage, I will continue refining timing and details to improve the overall quality and believability of my work.
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WEEK6
In Week 6, we started working on facial animation to make the character’s performance more expressive. I focused on creating basic expressions and blinking.
The feedback I received was mainly about naturalness and subtle details. For example, my blinking animation was too synchronized, with both eyes moving at exactly the same time, which feels unnatural. Also, the facial expressions were too symmetrical, making them look slightly mechanical.
The tutor also suggested adding more in-between frames in facial animation, instead of switching directly from one expression to another. This would help create smoother and more believable transitions.
In terms of body animation, I continued refining my polish. One key issue was still the center of gravity, which affected the stability of the movement. Additionally, my hand animation looked a bit floaty and lacked a clear sense of control and weight. I made some adjustments to improve these aspects.
This week helped me realise how important subtle details are in animation, especially facial asymmetry and a proper sense of weight. I will continue refining these elements to make the performance more natural and convincing.
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WEEK5
Assignment: Heavy Object & Change of Mind (Blocking Plus)
In Week 5, we continued refining our blocking to make the animation more detailed and natural. Instead of changing the overall structure, I mainly focused on improving smaller motion details.
One key issue pointed out by my tutor was the lack of a clear sense of weight, especially in the backward movement. The character did not feel grounded, and the motion looked a bit floaty rather than being affected by gravity. Based on this feedback, I adjusted the character’s posture and tilt to better establish the center of gravity.
Another important issue was the timing. The rhythm of the animation was not well controlled, particularly in terms of ease in and ease out. Some movements lacked proper acceleration and deceleration, making the animation feel stiff and less natural.
Through this week’s work, I started to better understand the importance of timing and weight in animation. In the next stage, I will continue refining these aspects to make the movement more believable and smooth.
This week’s theory class mainly focused on how to use sources properly in academic writing, especially the difference between quoting, paraphrasing, and summarising. I learned that these are all ways of incorporating other people’s ideas into our work, but they should be used differently depending on the situation. Quoting should be used carefully and not too often, while paraphrasing is the most common and preferred method, as it shows our own understanding of the material. Summarising is mainly used to give a general overview rather than detailed evidence .
We also learned how to integrate sources more effectively using methods like ICE (Introduce, Cite, Explain), which helps make our writing clearer and more structured. This made me realise that using sources is not just about adding references, but about explaining how they support our argument and connecting them to our own ideas. It also emphasised the importance of writing in our own words rather than relying too much on direct quotes.
Another important part of this week was understanding academic standards and ethics. We discussed issues such as plagiarism and the importance of properly citing all sources. I realised that academic writing is not only about presenting ideas, but also about being responsible and honest in how we use other people’s work .
Overall, this week helped me improve my understanding of how to use and present research in a more academic way. It also made me more aware of the importance of academic integrity, which is essential for developing strong and credible research.
Tutorial Reflection
In this week’s tutorial, we discussed my research topic about AI in the creative process in more depth. Initially, I wanted to focus mainly on how AI influences design workflows and how it can be used more effectively within the creative process. My idea was quite practical, looking at AI as a tool that can improve efficiency and support creative production.
However, during the discussion, my tutor suggested that I should also consider the negative aspects of AI, rather than only focusing on its advantages. This made me realise that my topic was currently quite one-sided. For example, AI can reduce the sense of authorship and creativity, as some outputs are generated instantly without the same level of human input, which may weaken the “soul” or personal expression in creative work. In addition, there are also wider issues such as the environmental impact of AI, including the high energy consumption required to run large-scale models.
This feedback helped me understand that my research should not just explore how to use AI, but also critically examine its impact from different perspectives. A more balanced approach would allow me to develop a stronger argument, rather than simply presenting AI as a helpful tool.
Overall, this tutorial pushed me to rethink my research direction and made my topic more critical and academic. I now feel that combining both the positive and negative aspects of AI will make my research more meaningful and relevant.
This week’s theory class mainly focused on how to develop and complete our draft literature review for the upcoming assignment. We went through the key guidelines and requirements, which helped me understand more clearly what needs to be included and how to structure it properly. I learned that the draft literature review is not just a writing task, but an important step in building the foundation for our final thesis proposal, as it helps test our research topic and direction .
We also reviewed the main components that need to be prepared, including a clear research question, a brief outline of research objectives, a structured literature review, and a bibliography. This made me realise that all parts are connected, especially how the literature review should directly support the research question and objectives, rather than being written separately .
Another important point from this week is understanding what counts as appropriate academic sources. We were encouraged to use peer-reviewed materials such as books and journal articles, and avoid unreliable sources like blogs or YouTube. This helped me better understand the importance of credibility in academic research. In addition, we also needed to follow proper academic conventions, such as Harvard referencing and avoiding plagiarism, which are essential for writing at this level .
Overall, this week helped me connect all the previous weeks’ learning together, especially research question, literature review, and academic writing. I now have a clearer idea of how to start my own draft and what I need to focus on to make it more structured and academically strong.
This week’s theory class mainly focused on academic writing skills, especially how to write a strong introduction and how to organise and integrate research more effectively. I learned that an introduction is not just the beginning of a paper, but a very important section that provides context, explains why the topic matters, and clearly states the research aim or question. It also acts as a roadmap, helping the reader understand what will be discussed in the rest of the paper .
We also discussed how to integrate research into writing. Instead of simply listing different sources, we should connect them together, compare different viewpoints, and show how they support or challenge our argument. This made me realise that a literature review is not just about summarising, but about building a clear and logical discussion between different studies .
Another important part of this week was how to structure a literature review more clearly. We learned that it should be organised around key themes or concepts rather than individual sources, and we should focus on analysing and synthesising the literature instead of describing it. This helps make the writing more coherent and easier to follow .
Overall, this week helped me better understand how academic writing works as a whole. It is not just about writing correctly, but about structuring ideas clearly, connecting research, and guiding the reader through the argument. I also feel more confident about starting my own literature review and introduction for my project.
This week’s theory class mainly focused on how to define a clear and effective research question. We learned that a good research question needs to be focused, specific and researchable, rather than too broad or vague. It should also be complex enough to allow deeper discussion and analysis, but still feasible within the time and scope of the project . This made me realise that forming a strong research question is actually one of the most important steps in the whole research process.
We also learned the steps of developing a research question. First, we need to understand the assignment requirements and purpose, then choose a topic that we are genuinely interested in. After that, doing some preliminary research is important, as it helps us understand existing discussions and identify possible gaps. Based on this, we can gradually narrow down a broad topic into a more specific and manageable question . I found this process very useful because it gives a clear direction instead of starting research blindly.
Another key point from this week is that narrowing down the topic is essential. Instead of trying to cover everything, it is better to focus on a specific aspect, such as a particular context, group, or time period. This helps make the research more in-depth and meaningful.
Overall, this week helped me understand that a research question is not something you just come up with randomly, but something that needs to be carefully developed through thinking and research. It also made me start thinking more seriously about my own topic and how to turn it into a clear and strong research question.