Creating a Website
This is my website design:
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| Opening Page |
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| My Profile Page |
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| Background Main Page |
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| Background Section |
Tuesday, 5 May 2020
LAUAN602, Website Design
This is my website design:
LAUAN602, Presentation
Creating a Presentation
Due to recent changes at University, we are not able to present our very last presentation of our animation course. As we will not be able to present we got asked to create speaking notes with the presentation to explain what we were going to say on each slide.
This is my presentation and the notes on each slide about what I was going to present:
Speaker Notes: Hello, welcome to my final year presentation about my experiences on this course and my plans for after University.
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| First Slide of Presentation |
Speaker Notes: Hello, welcome to my final year presentation about my experiences on this course and my plans for after University.
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| Second Slide of Presentation |
Speaker Notes: As we get closer to the end, I am
starting to consider the steps I need to take to become productive after my life at
University. I am having to move home for the time being while I prepare for
certain changes in my life. My first current aim is to finish off University
properly by handing in all my modules. I
think a worry for me is that I’m not going to graduate, so making this one of
my aims will give me a reason to aim higher as well as, achieve what I set myself to do
for the end of University. I’ve started to make a change this year as I have
started up all my social media in a professional manner. My ambition is to
continue the progress I am making with my social media, and even get to a point
where I start offering my freelance services to my followers. I have struggled
throughout University to make an animation that I would be proud to enter into a
festival or a competition. However, I’d admit the past 3 years have not been
the easiest. I'm willing to push myself further by planning to enter my final student film into numerous festivals. This would
be taking a huge step for me as this year I have wanted to push myself further
and achieve all the goals that I set myself when becoming confident about my
work and believing in what I do as an artist.
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| Third Slide of Presentation |
Speaker Notes: My exit strategy. When University ends I
plan to go home for a while to get back on my feet financially and to start
searching and applying for my dream jobs. I know I will need some time to
adjust moving home because when I moved to Leeds I gained a sense of
responsibility and learning to live independently.
While searching for the type of job roles out there and considering what I may want
to do, I realized that I was still unsure about my position when it comes to
doing a masters. As part of my exit strategy, I will consider the best option for
me right now. As well as this, the job being part of my exit strategy, I
also have to
consider opening a savings account. This is part of my strategy because if I
get a job where I have to make a big move, it will be more beneficial to me if
I'm financially stable to do so. This is so I can buy or rent an
apartment and live by myself without having to worry about money
struggles. Lastly, I want to continue to
enter small competitions as I may not necessarily get the job I want right away, and this
will give me a brief to follow as well as, keeping my artistic flare going.
Speaker Notes: Who am I as a learner? As a learner, I enjoy learning new software and skills. Learning new software and skills not only opens up opportunity within the industry, but learning how to do something step by step is the best way I learn. Throughout my time at university, when I have learned a new software it has opened so many doors for me such as being able to improve on the making of an art book. I would normally make an artbook on Microsoft PowerPoint but now I have the basic knowledge of InDesign I can produce a professional and eye-catching artbook. I have also learned throughout this year that using inspiration inspires me more when designing concept or background designs. Learning basic perspective drawing from these mood boards has allowed my work to become better and more unique; helping me to develop my style further. The last two years in University have been spent working in groups and teams to create different styled animations. This has been a positive thing for me as I can communicate my work with people better than before and I am also able to ask for advice on how I can improve my work when needed. Lastly, working on my final film as a director and producer has better improved my organizational skills and creating effective time plans for a group of people. All of these points have informed me as a professional practitioner as I am now able to leave University a more confident person as well as, being ready to jump into the industry!
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| Fourth Slide of Presentation |
Speaker Notes: Who am I as a learner? As a learner, I enjoy learning new software and skills. Learning new software and skills not only opens up opportunity within the industry, but learning how to do something step by step is the best way I learn. Throughout my time at university, when I have learned a new software it has opened so many doors for me such as being able to improve on the making of an art book. I would normally make an artbook on Microsoft PowerPoint but now I have the basic knowledge of InDesign I can produce a professional and eye-catching artbook. I have also learned throughout this year that using inspiration inspires me more when designing concept or background designs. Learning basic perspective drawing from these mood boards has allowed my work to become better and more unique; helping me to develop my style further. The last two years in University have been spent working in groups and teams to create different styled animations. This has been a positive thing for me as I can communicate my work with people better than before and I am also able to ask for advice on how I can improve my work when needed. Lastly, working on my final film as a director and producer has better improved my organizational skills and creating effective time plans for a group of people. All of these points have informed me as a professional practitioner as I am now able to leave University a more confident person as well as, being ready to jump into the industry!
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| Fifth Slide of Presentation |
Speaker Notes: This year I have worked on updating and
producing a professional online presence. I have currently been uploading to my
Instagram page 2 to 3 times a week. I started my Instagram by branding myself
and uploading a logo as my profile picture. I have also developed business
cards that I hope to get printed so I can start going to networking events with
them on me. This has improved over time as I now have 56 followers and my likes
on images that I upload, go up every week the more I post. I have also currently
updated my LinkedIn fully and have started to apply and search for jobs in the
industry. Attached to my LinkedIn is my website that I am going to use as my
online portfolio and my Instagram.
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| Sixth Slide of Presentation |
Speaker Notes: This is my online portfolio. My website
is simple yet effective. You can easily navigate your way around the website as
it is in 5 sections. The sections are: Home, Bio, Background Art, Concept Art,
and Other. It brings down a drop-down bar in each section to explain what
project each artwork belongs to as well as, as a home page for each
section to showcase all the work in one page in case the viewer didn’t want
to look at each different section or wanted to know which project it is from.
The home page is bright and eye-catching, and only gives a hint about some of
my artwork on the online portfolio. This causes the viewer to want to look
further into my website. The about page is to explain what my website is about
and what I specialise in.
Lastly, at the end of the homepage is a contact form so viewers can contact me for freelance work.
LAUAN602- Study Task 5
Cleaning up my Social Media
Now all my branding was completed and I was happy with the outcome; I began by deleting my original Instagram and restarting my page:
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| Creating my Platform |
I decided to use Instagram as one of my online portfolio because I use my personal account almost every day. Instagram is a good platform for art accounts and professionals to showcase their work and even gain work as a freelancer. I decided that using this a professional platform for my artwork, I will need to post at least twice a week or even more if possible. My aim is to post every piece of work that I have completed as I will be attaching my account to my LinkedIn so people can view my work.
I started to create my profile by adding a description of what my account was about, adding my logo as my profile picture, lastly, I started to follow other art accounts. This is what my account looked like:
Since setting up my account, I have started to post every Tuesday and Wednesday. I have gained 58 followers and my likes on each post are increasing every week. This is my process of three to four weeks after creating my profile:
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| Week One and Two |
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| Week Two and Three |
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| Overall Look of my Instagram |
LAUAN602- Study Task 5
Branding Myself
To start branding myself I began by writing a list of things I would need to do:
- Name of brand
- Logo design
- Business card designs
- Professional website
I started by naming my brand so I would be able to use the name of my brand on the logo and business card design. I thought the best process to start naming my brand would be to use my own name and my chosen job title which is: background/layout design, concept art and 2D Digital Animation. I came up with the idea of calling my brand: Jessica.H.Carters, Creative Designs and began designing my logo by testing out typography fonts to see how my brand name could look aesthetically.
Needing inspiration for my next bullet point on my list, I began to research on Pinterest some concept ideas on logo designs and business card designs:
These are the mood boards as inspiration for my logo design:
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| Logo Mood Board One |
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| Logo Mood Board Two |
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| Logo Mood Board Three |
These are the mood boards as inspiration for my business card design:
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| Business Card Mood Board One |
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| Business Card Mood Board Two |
This inspired me when working on my own logo as I could use the mood boards I had put together as a reference or a collage of ideas. This allowed me to try out many different designs with my logo so I had a big variety of choices to choose between.
The first design I created for my logo:
The second design I created for my logo:
Looking at my first two design I decided to merge both of the designs together and create a logo that is bright and colourful. I made the decision to make the logo bright and colourful because I wanted my logo to represent my work and be eyecatching for the viewer.
This is my final design:
The next step was creating a business card for my online presence. I needed to same inspiration for my business card as I did for my logo design so I used the same method and started to create mood boards for inspiration. This method was effective for me as I was able to visually see ideas in front of me and this allowed me to bullet point ideas.
My three designs:
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| First Design |
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| Second Design |
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| Third Design |
Comparing the three designs, my favourite layout was the third design. I went for this design because I wanted to use a bright colourful piece to catch the viewers eye. This is my own artwork from my colour script from 'The Portal'. This is an effective way to showcase my art as this is the first thing people will see when picking up my business card. However, the layout of the text on the back of the business card looked lost to me. It appeared too messy and I wanted to adjust this so it would look cleaner and easier to read.
This is my final design:
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| Final Design |
The layout of the text has been split by the use of the lines; making the text appear clearer and easier to read. It also looks more aesthetically pleasing.
LAUAN602- Study Task 4
Exit Strategy
Clear exit strategy on what you intend to do before and after completing the course.
This is my to-do list before graduation:
- Create a brand
- Learn how to use Adobe InDesign to create a more professional portfolio
- Create an online portfolio: website and social media accounts (set-up professionally)
- Write a creative CV
- Startup a professional LinkedIn account
- Start looking for studios I want to work for
- Write a cover letter
- Start applying for jobs
- Finish all modules to the best of ability
- Start posting often on social media pages
- Graduate from University
This is my to-do list after graduation:
- Move from Leeds back to Luton
- Continue applying for creative jobs
- Apply for normal jobs
- Save money
- Get a creative job
- Look for production assistant jobs
- Look for runner jobs
- Keep updating my social media
- Start offering freelance work
- Write a price list
- Start to find new hobbies so I can continue to be happy when I move back home
- Start a savings account for future reasons eg. Renting an apartment and travel.
- Continue to update my portfolio (PDF and Online)
- Continue to update CV
LAUAN602- Study Task 3
Professional Contacts
- Start planning and identify at least 12 professional contacts and attempt to make connections with them.
- Grace Simmons- Studio Manager at Mighty Giant
- Jill Turner- Digital Artist at Flipbook
- Jo Wilkinson- Head of Production
- Ben Haworth- Owner/Creative Director at Flipbook
- Terry Wragg- Director at Leeds Animation Workshop
- Kevin Spruce- Animation Director at Jellyfish Pictures
- Alana McGarrie- Production Coordinator at Jellyfish Pictures
- Alfred Llupia Perez- Art Director at Brown Bag Films
- Gloria Costi- Gloria Costi
- Emily Lynch- Background Artist at Lighthouse Studios
- Tasha Howe- 2D Character Animator at Lighthouse Studios
- Slaven Reese- 2D Character Animator
12 Networking opportunities
- At least 5 should be in real life, face to face meetings or events that you can realistically attend.
- Look to online professional-focused forums related to your practice for additional opportunities
- Manchester Animation Festival
- Edinburgh Short Animation Festival
- Cardiff Animation Festival
- Canterbury Anifest
- British Animation Awards
- Dead by Dawn: Scotland’s international horror film festival
- The Cartoon Museum: Lucy Sullivan Evening Talk
- British Museum: French Impressions. Prints from Manet to Cezanne
- Science and Media Museum: Animation Gallery
- Annecy International Animation Film Festival
- BECTU freelancers fair 2020
- Animated Women UK
LAUAN602- Study Task 3
My LinkedIn Account
- Update my LinkedIn account and fully set it up so it is all completed (provide a link).
- Start uploading work to the profile to make it more creative.
This my LinkedIn account as I left it when I set it up a year ago. I could improve my account by completing the set-up and adding all the relevant information, links to my social media and my online portfolio. Adding a profile picture will also complete my profile as potential employees like to see what you look like. As I don’t have any creative experience due to financial reasons at University; I still added relevant work experience as I still learned many skills during my time at these workplaces.
This is my LinkedIn when I was halfway through setting it up:
LinkedIn is an online CV and is a very useful tool in the professional industry when looking or applying for jobs. I plan to connect with people and studios that I am interested in when my profile is fully set-up. As this allows me to keep updated on job opportunities as well as, considering how I can connect with people in the industry that may be able to offer me some advice or experience. As I didn’t have any professional photos taken and did not like my University picture taken on my card; I decided to look through my photos and find a reasonably professional photo to upload on my profile. My aim for the future is to upload a smarter and more professional photo as this platform isn’t meant to be used for personal reasons. After completing my intro section, I move onto the ‘About’ section, which included:
‘I am currently studying at Leeds Art University in a BA (Hons) Animation degree in my final year as a student.
The university has allowed me to not only learn new skills that include learning new software to better impact my work aesthetically. It has also allowed me to utilise these skills in a professional setting, allowing me to thrive within the professional industry. The software’s that I am now able to specialise in are Photoshop, After Effects, Animate CC, Premiere Pro, InDesign, and TV Paint.
Throughout my time at University I have learned many communication and presentation skills. I am able to confidently work within a group environment when communicating about a project. This has also strengthened my ability to effectively lead a group in a project with a practical time plan.
I currently specialise in: Background and Layout Design as well as, 2D-Digital Animation. However, I am open-minded when it comes to learning new skills to better my practice and broaden my knowledge of the industry.’
The university has allowed me to not only learn new skills that include learning new software to better impact my work aesthetically. It has also allowed me to utilise these skills in a professional setting, allowing me to thrive within the professional industry. The software’s that I am now able to specialise in are Photoshop, After Effects, Animate CC, Premiere Pro, InDesign, and TV Paint.
Throughout my time at University I have learned many communication and presentation skills. I am able to confidently work within a group environment when communicating about a project. This has also strengthened my ability to effectively lead a group in a project with a practical time plan.
I currently specialise in: Background and Layout Design as well as, 2D-Digital Animation. However, I am open-minded when it comes to learning new skills to better my practice and broaden my knowledge of the industry.’
My ‘About’ section is short and straight to the point. I explain who I am, what I specialise in, the University I attended and the skills that I learned during my time as a student. After adding all my relevant skills, I started to add all my social media accounts and online portfolios. This is so protentional companies and studios are able to view my work and gain knowledge on the style of my work and how I have used my relevant skills listed.
My finished profile linked below:
LAUAN602- Study Task 2
Moving on From University
- How am I going to get my foot in the door? Start by setting up social media and getting my work out into the world-hopefully start freelancing jobs for clients. As well as, creating a brand.
I plan to get my foot in the door by using many different methods and tools made available to me. Social media is a big platform for this generation to use as a more intermate online portfolio. I want to successfully set up a fully finished account on ‘Instagram’ by creating a logo and a brand for myself. This will guide me into what I will post onto my feed and allows more viewers to notice my work, follow me, share and ‘like’ my feed.
As well as the use of Instagram, LinkedIn is an effective online CV. I will fully set up my LinkedIn by completing the profile and filling out each section. Once my LinkedIn is set up, I will attempt to look for current job opportunities to follow and apply to. This will broaden my knowledge of the industry, what jobs are available, and will introduce me to people of creative arts.
I hope to offer my freelance services through Instagram and LinkedIn. Potentially using a website as an online portfolio as well as, have a portfolio in PDF format, to show to clients and protentional job opportunities. Becoming a freelancer artist allows me to continue to produce work and build a better portfolio in the future.
Moving on From University
- How will I move on from University? Where will I be living? Commuting? Financial requirements?
I will be moving home after University as I do not currently have any job offers and due to the pandemic happening right now. As I live in Luton, which is only a half an hour train from London I am able to easily commute. However, I am also willing to travel or move for a job if it is something that I would consider moving for. I’m open to new opportunities and hope to start my journey into the industry as a runner or a production assistant. As I am low on money, to begin my journey into finding my dream job, I will be open to accepting any job I can get at the time. My plan is to earn money: part time, hopefully doing some freelance work on the side, and applying for jobs in between. This will enable me to comfortably pay my bills but also allow me to apply for jobs on the side.
LAUAN602- Study Task 2
Dream Companies
- Research companies and express why you would want to work there.
As I was struggling to find potential companies that I would want to work for I started to search on LinkedIn what creative jobs are currently out there right now. This led me into some interesting creative companies I could see myself working for and even applying for some of these job positions:
Jellyfish Pictures, London – Production Assistant
Jellyfish Pictures is a well-known visual effects and animation production studio based in London. They have currently worked on feature films such as Star Wars: The Last Jedi, and Dennis and Gnasher: Unleashed. I would want to work for this company because not only do they offer many different styles and techniques within their work, but they have produced work for some of my favourite animated characters and films. Jellyfish Picture is also one of my chosen job choices because after scanning through their job opportunities on LinkedIn, I realised how many job opportunities I could apply for and enjoy if I worked for the studio.
Netflix, London- Production Planning Specialist
Another company or studio I would consider working for is Netflix. As this past year has played out, I have really enjoyed the production side of creating a film. I was able to create effective time plans and tick lists that were easy to follow and effective for group work throughout the production stage. Netflix offers opportunities to become part of the production team. As part of the production team, they state that you will expand on skills such as, ‘executing complex strategies’, ‘navigate evolving situations’, and ‘exercise the highest level of confidence with sensitive information’.
LAUAN602- Study Task 2
Evaluation of Showreels
This is my very first showreel from my first year of university. The improvements that could be made to the showreel is the number of still photos within the video. Using still photos within this showreel has stopped the video from flowing from frame to frame. This makes the video appear as if it is stopping and starting every time it switches from a still image to an animation piece. I could improve this by only demonstrating my animation skills in this showreel; as a portfolio is a more professional way to arrange your artwork. A portfolio is more effective for still images because you are able to express, in a little paragraph, the backstory behind the artwork and what it was designed for. Allowing the viewer to take their time observing and understanding the concept. Whereas the showreel only showcasing the animation, will appear more exciting and professional as this does not need a background story. The viewer simply wants to see your skills on the showreel when demonstrating your work in animation. The end result of the showreel with has a more powerful meaning as this will allow the video to become less stiff and more exciting for the viewer. The ending of the showreel was my favourite part as I think it is straight to the point and snappy.
This is my second-year showreel which is very similar to my first years. I continue to make the same mistakes and realised that I was not taking the constructive criticism by the teachers into consideration to improve on my work. A showreel is meant to be short but eye-catching to the viewer. I would improve my showreel by repeating the same tasks for the first showreel; taking out the still images for a more effective flow from each video will allow the showreel to become more smooth and easier to watch. I would speed up the process and cut and paste different animations in the showreel to produce different lengths of animation being shown. This will create an enjoyable atmosphere and will draw the viewer in, convincing them to want to know more about my work. The end result and my goal would be to leave a lasting impression. The typography for the end of this video is not effective as the movement of the letters and words is not only slow and boring but the font text could have been clearer and more readable.
LAUAN602-Study Task 1
Going into Third Year
1. Explain my chosen practice, what do I want to do? What are my options? How will I do it?
My chosen practice is not yet clear to me however, I enjoy many areas within animation that I would like to explore throughout the year. By exploring each area this will hopefully benefit me when deciding what my chosen practice is going to be. I have a group of possible options that I am interested in and will be working on throughout the second part of the year. My chosen practice topics are: Conceptual Artist, Background/Layout Artist, Colour Key Artist, and Production Runner/part of the Production team. To decide which one/or multiple things that I could inspire to do, I decided to create a final film for my Extended Practice. To become part of a production team I will need to have better time-management skills. My final film will give me the opportunity to not only develop many new skills, but I can also learn how to effectively plan out a timetable and manage a team of people. As well as my own project, I will also be involved in projects run by my peers in order to practice technical and practical skills. I will be creating some concept art for the backgrounds of Briony Caswell final film as well as, concept and background/layout design for Gabby Slater. Lastly, I will be doing the background designs for my own animation, using Eloise Wayling’s concept art as inspiration.
2. Explore my skill set. Are my skills practical, technical, or both? How am I a specialist or why do you want to be one?
Throughout my time at Leeds Art University I think I have gained and learned many new practical and technical skills. For example:
· I have the ability to supervise a design team/group of people as teachers have encouraged us to collaborate in group work throughout University. I am able to communicate effectively as part of a team as well as, a director of a film. I can confidently discuss concepts and production requirements throughout the production stage. Create an effective time-management plan in addition to efficiently following a time-management plan given by a director.
· Knowledge of a variety of software’s: Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Premiere, After Effects, Word, PowerPoint, Excel, pen tablet, Procreate, Animate CC, and Tv paint.
· I am able to work according to certain rules, demands and to meet rigorous deadlines.
· To work under many different styles of animation: paper cut-out, 2D digital animation, stop-motion, and hand-drawn animation.
· The willingness and passion to learn new skills and gain practical and technical skills through new processes within a studio.
· Presentation skills
· Problem-solving skills
· Designing logos/booklets and websites.
3. What are my plans for the end of the university? Do I want to get a job in a studio? Or work as a freelancer? Do I want to be apart of this world? Do I want to go into teaching? How can I achieve this goal?
My plans for the end of University is to start applying for jobs in the industry. I have looked into a studio job as a junior runner. This will give me my first step as well as, guiding me into the animation industry almost having to work my way up while learning the ropes of a production team along the way. I will gain many skills such as, time-management, organisational skills, knowledge on how a production team works, and completing tasks given to me by management. I will also be applying for design jobs such as, background/layout and concept art. I hope to use this time in University improving on my drawing skills by practising perspective drawing of environments to enhance my concept work by using photos or using the natural environment to study from as my inspiration when drawing. By improving on my drawing skills this will strengthen my work and will push me to become more professional when designing a concept or background art.
4. Do I need to change my response to social media? How can I improve my social media and make it more professional?
At the start of University year, I had created a social media on Instagram and LinkedIn. However, I did not fully complete either profile on LinkedIn or Instagram. I also did not keep any platform updated on what was happening. Furthermore, I also didn’t upload any posts onto Instagram or follow any other art accounts. I think this was down to my own self-confidence as I felt like my work was not good enough to be posted. I decided to fix this by deleting all my current creative social media and restarting them from scratch. This would benefit me because I make these platforms more professional by taking one platform at a time. I wanted to completely re-brand myself from: ‘The Lazy Sloth’, as I think this was not true to myself and came across to the viewer like my work will be completed to a substandard result. I think my brand for my online presence could be more professional if I found a way to incorporate my name, so the viewer knows who I am. As well as this, I have to start thinking about the impact these social media platforms will have on getting a job. Instagram gives me the opportunity to use the platform as an online professional portfolio where I will be able to make posts about work and showcasing what I have been up to.
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