#qantm

So this is where I will be posting my work from now on! Previously known as thepinkpandaqantmblog.tumblr.com I thought it would be fresh to start a new blog for the next chapter of my career. I will be posting so much stuff on here ranging from personal work to work I do for my business at Polynaut Studios (feel free to check us out!)

I will be keeping up my old blog for myself and for others that want to see some of the work that can come out of the Animation course at SAE/Qantm in Melbourne. I feel that it could be of some importance to someone other than myself.

I will still be posting old work that I did during my time at University on my old blog and I will also be posting some of that on here as well that I am happy enough to share here! But there will be nothing really new after a while.

I’ll be happy to answer any questions relating to the course on here but would prefer to keep that over on my old blog and am more than happy to answer any questions about animation in general on here.

   So I was meant to tell everyone what will be going on with this blog in the future. It completely slipped my mind/ Ive been putting it off because I ain’t ready to say goodbye though.

   It’s been three long years since I started at Qantm/SAE. A lot has happened. I have learned so much from my time there. From the first couple of classes thinking I’m ready for all this "BRING IT!!”. To the massive amounts of self doubt that plagued my mind time and time again. To those epic days where everything was going right and no programs crashed. It has been quite a journey and I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.

   It’s amazing looking through this blog at my journey from my first horrible drawings right through to my final project. I have noticed so much improvement on how I work and the quality of my work too. I’ve left Uni with so much knowledge and so many devices and strategies to keep learning as I grow as a professional. I owe a lot of that to the amazing people that I learnt with and those that taught me everything they know.

   Leaving Qantm/SAE I have gone into starting up an Animation business with a couple of friends from uni. So far it has been a crazy couple of weeks and the future looks both scary and exciting! But I’m happy I am not facing it alone. The people I am working with now have been some of my closest friends since Studio 1 and I couldn’t ask for a better group of people to tackle such a task as starting a studio with.

  As for the future of this blog there is no need to worry at all! This blog isn’t going anywhere. As of now though it will not be as active as it once was. It is here to serve as an insight into my journey as a student that attended Qantm/SAE. For other students to use as a tool, reference, and enjoy as one student’s story. I will still be posting anything that is related to my time at uni. A big one to keep an eye out for will be our final film ‘Life on Paws’ after it makes its rounds in film festivals (or you might even catch it at festivals!). Other than that other stuff like rigs, arts and bits and bobs will make their appearance here.

   For those that want to keep up with new content I will be creating a new blog in the next couple of days (once I think of an amazing epic as name) for you to follow if you wanna see me take my next step on this epic journey.

   Thank you so so much to each and every single one of you for being by my side throughout everything!

This week myself and my team were focused on getting our work ready for the Art bible submission. I had missed a few lessons, though my group explained everything i had missed and we had various Skype calls during this to discuss how we should approach different designs. The calls help us all feel involved in decision making and also made sure we were all clear with what was expected of us and what we all agreed looked good.

We had a drastic-change in design this week as well several great ideas for assets. However in our last half of Fridays lesson, Jon brought to our attention several flaws with our colour schemes, and overall project. he said that it would be hard to complete several asset, as was shown in the *clutter/hoarder* mood-board for the library. as if we completed it and it looked barren, it wouldn’t really look good.

That night we all went home and discussed the changes that needed to take place. We agreed with Jon’s comments but we also noticed how he was saying that the front part of the building contrasted the back. so we decided to focus those.

The front, being vibrant and colorful,

The back, being satanic and more dead.

I made the comment that we should still have a (looking through the window) feature. then Josh brought forward that we could use a skybox. Which was exactly what i had in mind.

Today we Debated on a variety of topics, and this was incredibly fun. At first it was girls verse boys in an ultimate battle of the sexes. then we had an argument were we had to prove why each of our disciplines were the best, this was between Animation, Film and Audio fortunately the games students were absent, “good thing for them.” it was very challenging to debate one side, without pointing out a strength in another field. they all need each other to work well and convey emotion. what is a film or a short animation without an audio track instructing you on how you should be interpreting the image and how you should be feeling. For me this part of the lecture was painful to watch, and though i wanted Animation to win i knew we were doomed from the start, along with Games if they were present.

After the rage died down, we swapped and interchanged into groups consisting of the different disciplines. We had to create a product that would benefit us all. my groups idea was originally a pillow that recorded your dreams, because we all believed that you had your best ideas come to your when your asleep and your at your most imaginative and creative state. But then we realized that it would have to be something that could be made now, and our idea if possible was years in the making. we then thought of endorsing LSD ( i have no idea why.) but my team seemed able to prove some valid and relevant points.

Released on October 9th, 2007, Portal was a small game that was given to people alongside two of valves big titles if the year, Half-life 2 and Team Fortress 2, in a bundle called The Orange Box.

Portal turned out to be much more then originally thought. On its surface, it was a simple puzzle solving game that used a rather interesting mechanic, the portal travelling. However, when people started to play the game they found something that made the game far more memorable then originally expected. GLaDoS.

GLaDoS is the robotic controller of Aperture Labs, the place where the game takes place. She guides the player through the first part of the testing process with tips and encouragement. However, once the testing is complete, she tries to murder you. 

With fire.

Even with the whole ‘trying to murder you’ thing, she quickly became a fan favourite for several reasons, her humour as she ‘encourages you’ during the testing, her comments while you try to defeat her, her bizarre love of cake. 

The most memorable thing about her, in my eyes anyway, is the fact that she is the only character who talks throughout the entire game, and one of the few characters in the game period. This is very interesting in such a story driven game.