Wes Hodgetts:
“Gradually recording my art & animation journey…”
Learning, exploring, improving, enjoying!
Currently learning to create 2D
animations by enjoying the process…
I’m not ‘classically’ trained or ‘qualified’ (yet!), but that doesn’t matter. This year I’m beginning a journey to enjoy creating and improving pieces of short, sharp art and animation…
Much of what I’ve done so far is based around short animation challenges, mainly with my dad. We each have 30 or 60 minutes to make something around a theme or idea.
The program we usually use is called Aseprite. Each animation frame is adjusted by hand, without any tweening by the program. Limiting the time puts us under pressure to find simple ways to get an idea across.
Some of my 30 to 60 minute Aseprite challenges…
Rabbit Goes Fishing
Time taken: 60 mins challenge
Idea: to think of something based around a boat. Rabbit ‘catches’ a fish, and falls overboard when the line snaps
Rabbit Jump
Time: 60 mins challenge
Idea: Use minimal frame-to-frame images to create an animation, with expression added after if time allowed. In this case, Rabbit jumping across a landscape
Cactus Party!
Time taken: 60 mins challenge
Idea: to think of something based around a cactus. Mine was a beach party, with someone’s foot striking down onto an evil cactus in the sand
Pudg
Time: 40 mins challenge
Idea: Pressing in some belly flesh (‘pudge’) with a finger (to tease my dad). [Pronounced “pud -guh”!]
Santa Bauble
Time taken: 30 – 40 mins challenge
Idea: Choose a Xmas theme. Chose to have Santa as a bauble falling off a xmas tree and rolling away before exploding
Reindead
Time: 30 – 40 mins challenge
Idea: Choose a Xmas theme. Rudolph galloping over snow into Santa with a silly ending
Hefty Hamster
Time: 30 – 40 mins challenge
Idea: daft overweight hamster risking his life on the road
Skelly Arms
Time: 30 – 40 mins challenge
Idea: Moving body parts. Chose to try moving a skeleton with ‘arm legs’. But no time left to have the head bobbing!
Ball Tumble
Time: 60 mins challenge
Idea: have a ball moving/rolling due to gravity