Final Thoughts
At the announcement of this project, I was very excited to learn more about animation. I always wanted to bring my work to life, and I've always been a big fan of an old fashion stop motion animation as it brings so many childhood memories. However, after learning about many animation software, I found it hard to decide which one to use for my project. In the end, I thought my best option is Photoshop as I worked in it previously and learning how to animate in it will be an extension of my knowledge.
A challenge I faced was thinking our task was to create a perfectly smooth animation just like the ones done by Disney. I was a bit nervous about how am I going to fit in the limited time frame and create a perfectly smooth animation. I think my insecurities about trying something new like animation and my high expectation despite being a beginner with little knowledge about animation put me in a place where I wasn't sure what I'm going to make and how. Luckily, I worked with a wonderful group of people who were able to work through all the obstacles with me as a group.
At first, I wasn't sure if I'm going to be good enough at a group project as I am a shy person. It was my first time doing a big group project, and I tried my best to contribute as much work as possible. I was afraid that there may be not enough communication from my side to be able to discuss my ideas. However, my group turned out to be as nervous about working with new people. Despite all my doubts at the beginning of this project, it went well, and I enjoyed exploring a new way of delivering a comic book. This experience gave me enough courage to be able to say that I am a good team player, which is an important skill in the comic book industry. I hope there will be more opportunities like this for me to polish my skills.
In the end, I am happy with the outcome of my project. However, if I could turn back the time and make some changes, I would. When I originally planned the first panel of the second page, I wanted to animate the mermaids swimming around the prince. In the end, I found it too difficult or was too hard to put together. Looking at this panel now, I regret I haven't taken on the challenge to try to animate it the way I intended to at the very beginning.
In the future, I will remember to take on more risks and at least try to do things that seem impossible. It is because it may work the next time I try. Things like this are worth trying because, at the end of the day, I learn something new every day.
This project had a lot of ups and downs, but in the end, I learned a lot from it. These past few months taught me to be more confident with my work as my style gets better with each project. I can't wait to see how much my artwork will change in the future, and I'm looking forward to keep enhancing my skills and knowledge.