Animating: The First Liquid Fuelled Rocket

In order to draw the first rocket to be fuelled by a liquid substance, I had to first find out what it looked like on launch, something much easier to do than with the previous weaponry, as it is more recent (within the last 100 years,) thus, cameras and the like were around also.

Here, is Robert Goddard, stood proudly next to his (beautiful) invention.

Taken from en.wikipedia.org

With a picture as a visual reference to inform my drawing, what I then needed was to know how, exactly, the contraption worked in order to animate it accurately. After finding a video reference, I decided to give up on knowing how the frame reacted to launch (I have my ideas, but they are probably inaccurate). Instead, I will use lots of smoke screen to cover it, as is shown in the video found below. I think it should be alright, as it is a recording of perhaps not the first, but more certainly one of the sequential launching of said missile. 

Animating: The Matchlock Musket

With firearms first developed in China, hand held cannons as well as ground cannons were soon born. Through either the Silk Road or the Mongol invasion during the 13th century, gunpowder and it's weaponry were brought to Europe.

Eventually, the matchlock musket comes to be in the 15th century, after the technology has been refined from a completely human operated system, to one which is mechanical. This is similar to one that I intend to use.

Animating: The Cannon

With firearms first developed in China, hand held cannons as well as ground cannons were soon born. Through either the Silk Road or the Mongol invasion during the 13th century, gunpowder and it's weaponry were brought to Europe.

16th century cannon; http://www.fotothing.com

http://en.wikipedia.org

Among the most recognizable of the ground cannons developed, was the 16th-18th century cannon. Though it has not changed much from the earliest recorded English cannon of 1327, all that seems to have changed is that they then came with wheels.

Granted, early models were smaller; however they tended to fire arrows or other ammunition and are not exactly what would be definitively recognisable as being a cannon. Such models of the the inbetween progression staged include the 'ribauldequin', the 'ribaldis' and the 'grapeshot'.

Alas, though cannons were a great asset in wars and a development that stayed around for many centuries, it was not until 1716 under King George I that a permanent unit was formed specialising in the operation of a cannon. Previous to this time, units were formed specifically for a war and disbanded afterwards.

As such, I have chosen to model my puppet's outfit after this time, as it frustrated me as to what he would wear to accurately depict the time of the weapon. Aware that each segment of an army is kitted out differently, with huge ranges of difference such as between a pikeman and a cavalier, I was a ware that if I got it wrong, it would look quite bizarre. As such, the compromise on this is that a unit that normally comprises of around 5 personnel, for the sake of this animation I have reduced it to just the one person.

http://www.thegarrison.org.uk/history/index.php

With the outfit finally sorted after much research, I then had to animate it. So, what is the process of firing a cannon, how can I replicate it with a singular person in place of a properly manned military unit? After looking at this video below, I was able to emulate the process a little, along with some effective transitioning to aid in the preparation of the load-fire sequence. Further, as the character then disappears off screen, where the other half of the cannon itself is and we cannot see the ignition, merely a suggestion of the actual process to firing. I think this might be okay, as the focus of this is more on the progression of projectile weaponry as opposed to how the mechanic behind each phase has developed through time.

Mid Animating Crisis

I realised that despite my animation being like "Geri's Game", I had ended up nearly explaining how each and every item was operated before firing, much like in the beginning of the short we see Geri pondering over a move both as an opponent and himself. To allow for build in tension, this is only at the beginning, which I was ignoring, leading to my overall progress to seem a bit...flat. As such, my patience running thin on animating it as such (with no rise toward the end) led me to cutting out those parts for the final weapons, leaving just the

It was only a good thing that I realised this, as it meant that not only did my animation look better, but what I had left to animate got a better share of my time. Clearly, I seem to be getting distracted and putting in everything of the story, instead of purely the pieces that are necessary. I have to be really careful, or my stories will end up a bit too linear, and that I would assume is as tedious and un-engaging to watch as it is to plod through the making.

Royal Armouries: "Threw the Ages" Feedback Consideration

After showing my animatic in conjunction with my work-in-progress, I got my feedback, which for ages I had no idea on how I was going to change what I had in order to take on board the rather divided opinions. Finally, I had an idea, that would both keep the original concept which some thought was fine, but also give it that little bit more as was wanted.

Thus, I decided that instead of simply an evolution morph (which turned into a fade upgrade) I should have the "spirit" of the last of the war items as landing on the javelin to be thrown, thus the sport inherits its essence in friendly competition.

Animating: The Spear

Well. I couldn't find the very first spear ever crafted, but I did manage to get a reference of some early spears and how they were fashioned; of flint tied onto a long, thin piece of wood. I managed to find this picture, on the internet (I think) which I relied on heavily as reference material.

mesa verde spear & knife

As for getting the movement right, I decided to use this video as a guide.

Animating: The Bow & Arrow

Surrounding the bow and arrow, there is a shroud of mystery. When, exactly, was it first created? A mystery that has bothered me also, for I would like to depict the earliest, if not the first, likeness within my animation. If I had been around 64-8000 BC I would not have this problem. Regardless, I have ended up going for a slightly generic depiction.

http://imnh.isu.edu

I quite liked how this one's bow string is tied. However, it is quite recent, dated as being adopted in southern Idaho around 500 AD. Most early arrows wouldn't have had any kind of fletching, either.

http://www.10millionmiles.com/

  

I like that this one has no fletching on the arrow, as well as how rough and plain the bow itself is. However, I don't know if this is just a made up drawing as the site it was uploaded from is inaccessible.

After some searching, I also looked at some arrow heads, but decided these were too advanced...

I think something closer to this would have been far more likely.

http://de.wikipedia.org

The Royal Armouries

At the conclusion of the first year of animation, a collection of five briefs were handed out to all soon-to-be second year students of the Northern Film School. These briefs were written 3:2 by the Royal Armouries and the NHS.

Understanding the amount of sensitivity and accuracy needed for the NHS briefs, I opted out of selecting either of theirs. Thus, it came down to the three from the Royal Armouries which I then further narrowed down to one.

Concentrating on brief 3, "to display or not to display", I wrote out what my thoughts on war were; what I think should be the approach to responding to wars past and how I think we should proceed. After some brainstorming and reflection, the beginnings of an idea was forming.

Finally, I returned to Leeds, with my idea tucked away both in my head and in writing. Exploring war further, I looked up some articles on tyrants of the past; some about Marxists' and Capitalists' view on war. I talked to my mother who told me the benefits that have emerged because of war such as the advancement in healthcare, and suddenly my idea had a middle to go with the start and end I had already envisioned.

Currently, I am working on organising the middle section and sewing it seamlessly together with the start and end; doing some character designing and recently I acquired some photos of what is on display for drawing references. Below is a selection of photos that I took.