Weekly Blog - 7-15-21: Animation

 This week, I explored using Illustrator some more, this time to create a short animation. I created this flower petal blooming animation:

Firstly, I created an artboard of just the yellow center of the flower. I then, following the helpful tutorial on basic animating methods in Illustrator, copied the first artboard and created my first petal. I experimented more than previously when creating the mandala artwork, and added a gradient effect as well as a stroke effect to the shape. After creating the first petal, I copied the artboard and added another petal, in a circular pattern. I continued until the flower shape was complete and then exported the files to photoshop where I finished by making it a gif.

I had previously never used any animating software and thought this was a lot easier than I was expecting and would like to try my hand at creating more complex animations in the future. I also was interested in exploring the differences in working with vector art vs pixel-based art. The ability to create shapes and alter the size without any loss in quality is not what I'm used to, and it made things so much easier to change when experimenting with design ideas.

I enjoyed exploring the different topics this week and learned a lot about animation. I particularly enjoyed seeing the documentary The Pixar Story as I'm a huge fan of the films they've made and it was a great look at their progress and beginnings. I also really loved learning more about Studio Ghibli films, as I've always been watching their movies since I was really young. I remember seeing Spirited Away when I was around 10, it was my introduction to the world of anime and I consider it to be one of my all-time favorite movies.