I’ll admit: between the first two terms of the 2D Animation and Digital Art program at the Centre for Arts and Technology, the global pandemic, and just the rigours of being in a city that still doesn’t quite feel like home, I went into our spring break very much burnt out. It has become clear to me over the years that one of the tricks for dealing with burn-out is making the most of the free time you have, and for me, that often means letting go of all schedule and letting the spirit move me as it will. If that means working on a project, great! If it means sitting on the couch and binging Critical Role while I eat take-out pho, also great. My break ended up being a mix of all those things, although I tried to keep the pencil moving whenever I could.
So here’s a round-up of projects I worked on during our week-and-a-half-long break. Some are finished, some are still in progress, and some are being put aside, fun had and lessons learned.
It’s hard to believe, but my second of five terms at the Centre for Arts and Technology’s 2D Animation and Digital Art program is complete! This term, it felt like we really started applying the fundamentals of animation that we learned in quarter one. I felt a massive improvement in my ability to draw human characters from my imagination, which has always been difficult to do to my satisfaction. Our character design class really pushed those skills and cemented the practice we’ve been doing in life drawing. Finally, our Drawing for Animation class gave me a chance to take a crack at drawing animation layouts.
Toward the end of this term, I realized that I need to focus on improving the timing in my animation. The motion in the last two assignments bothered me – it felt too rigid and unnatural. After a conversation with a contact in the industry, I now understand that my drawings were spaced too evenly. So one of my focuses for next term will be on achieving snappy, natural movement.
Next term, I’m looking forward to beginning digital animation in Adobe Animate/Flash, and learning more about storyboarding. I’m also hoping to work on adding more rhythm, flow, and spontaneity to my drawing in our life drawing class, in which we’ll be focusing on animal drawing.
My first term at the Centre for Arts and Technology just finished today! Even though there are four more quarters to go, I’m thrilled with what I’ve learned so far, excited for what I’ll learn in terms to come, and proud of myself for all the work I did during the term and to get here. It’s hard to believe that we’ve already finished 20% of the program!
Here are some of the highlights from the term.
Next term, I’m looking forward to improving my life drawing skills, diving into acting in animation, and learning more about character design. We’re also taking a perspective class, and while I’ve already taken perspective, you can never practice it too much, and I’m excited to learn about organic perspective for the first time.
My name is Peter Davoust. I’m an animation and illustration student at the Centre for Arts and Technology. I like visual storytelling, cartoon animals, and art that makes the world a better place. When I graduate from CAT, I hope to make all three.