Author: Inioluwa Adeyiga

This week, Ting’s lecture focused on acting and subtext, exploring the idea that what a character says is often different from what they actually mean. She emphasized the importance of “show, don’t tell” and how great acting comes from understanding the thoughts and intentions beneath the dialogue. We looked at examples from animation and discussed how body language and acting choices can communicate meaning without explicitly stating it. Ting also introduced us to the 11 Second Club, a long-running animation challenge where animators create their own interpretations of the same 11-second audio clip. I found it fascinating how the exact same line could result in completely different performances depending on the animator’s choices and the subtext they wanted to convey. This became the basis for our first assignment after the Easter break. Although we were not expected to begin animating immediately, Ting encouraged us to spend the break thinking about the hidden meaning behind our chosen dialogue and how we wanted to communicate it through acting rather than simply illustrating the words.

Alongside this, we were given another assignment based on the previous week’s industry talk. The task was to interview a professional artist we admired, with the aim of practicing professionalism while also gaining insight into the realities of the industry. I was fortunate enough to interview freelance 3D artist and animator Ali Tomineek, whose work I have admired for years, especially through Instagram. I was surprised by how generous he was with his time and how openly he shared his journey. He spoke about transitioning from video editing into animation, building an audience online and choosing the freelance route because of the creative freedom it offered. One thing that stood out to me was his emphasis on passion and experimentation. He described learning animation as similar to learning how to swim: you can only truly learn by jumping in and doing it. Hearing about the realities of freelancing and his ability to maintain a distinctive artistic voice made me think differently about the many paths available in the industry.

Over the break, I also revisited my “Heavy Object / Change of Mind” shot. Taking Ting’s earlier advice to start again, I approached the assignment with a completely different mindset. I switched to using the Bony rig, which made it easier to separate the body into sections and animate them in passes. Instead of trying to animate everything at once, I focused on the hips first, then the back, arms and other body parts. I also changed my workflow by making sure that different controls shared the same keyframes. Previously, I had a tendency to key things inconsistently, which often left me lost when making adjustments. Keeping controls aligned made the animation process much smoother and easier to manage. Although starting over initially felt like admitting defeat, it ultimately resulted in a much stronger shot and taught me the importance of having a workflow that is both organized and flexible.

Looking back, this week tied together many of the themes we have explored throughout the term. Whether through acting, career advice or body mechanics, the common thread seems to be intentionality. Strong performances come from understanding what a character is thinking, successful careers come from being deliberate about the kind of artist you want to become, and effective animation workflows come from making clear decisions rather than working chaotically. It felt like a fitting way to conclude the term before moving into more dialogue-focused work after the break.

This week, instead of our usual lecture, Ting gave an industry talk focused on preparing us for life after university. She spoke about the hierarchy within animation studios and the different career paths available depending on individual interests and strengths. It was interesting to hear about the variety of roles that exist beyond simply being an animator, and how different departments work together throughout a production. She also discussed the differences between working at large studios, smaller companies and as a freelancer, which gave me a broader understanding of the industry.

A large part of the talk focused on employability and professionalism. Ting shared advice on finding internships and entry-level positions, as well as the importance of networking and maintaining a strong portfolio. She stressed that studios are not only looking for technical ability but also for people who are reliable, easy to work with and able to communicate effectively. Hearing this reinforced the importance of collaboration, something that has been a recurring theme throughout the year.

I found the session particularly insightful because it made the animation industry feel much more approachable. Up until now, I have mostly been focused on completing assignments and improving my technical skills, but the talk reminded me that there is also a professional side to animation that is equally important. It encouraged me to think more seriously about how I present my work and what kind of artist I want to become. More than anything, it was reassuring to hear that careers are rarely linear and that there are many different paths into the industry, provided you continue learning and remain open to opportunities.

This week was a little different as we took a trip to the Cinema Museum to present our Project 1 work. For my presentation, I decided to continue developing the same core idea I had explored during last term’s presentation: a 360° animated film about the effects that growing up in an abusive household can have on a young boy. Rather than focusing on the complete story, I used Project 1 as an opportunity to test some of the technical and visual elements that I hope to incorporate into the Final Major Project. Presenting in a different environment and seeing everybody’s work outside the classroom made the experience feel much more professional and encouraged me to think about how to communicate ideas clearly.

During the presentation, I explained my technical approach and the role audience attention would play in the experience. Since the film is intended to be viewed in 360°, I wanted the viewer’s experience to depend partly on where they choose to look. I discussed my experiments with gaze detection in Unreal Engine, where sounds become louder when the camera points towards certain objects, subtly guiding the viewer’s attention without forcing it.

I also showed the results of a lighting test, which allowed me to experiment with the mood and atmosphere I hope to achieve in the final film. Alongside these tests, I presented mood boards and visual references that helped communicate the tone and style I am aiming for.

Looking back on the presentation, I realised that Project 1 had achieved exactly what Ting intended it to do: test one important aspect of the Final Major Project rather than trying to solve everything at once. Although the technical experiments were still relatively simple, they helped me understand what was possible and highlighted areas that would require further development. More importantly, presenting the work forced me to articulate my ideas clearly and think about how the technical systems support the emotional experience of the film. Seeing the reactions and questions from others also gave me confidence that the concept was strong enough to continue developing in the coming months.

This week there was no formal lecture, with most of the time dedicated to feedback and individual support. However, Ting noticed that many of us were struggling with the facial transition assignment, so she paused to give a quick demonstration using one of the students’poses. Watching her work through the problem was extremely helpful because it showed how she approached the shot from broad changes down to smaller details. Rather than treating each pose as isolated keyframes, she focused on the transition itself and demonstrated how breakdowns, eye darts and subtle head movements helped create a more believable performance. Seeing the process unfold in real time made the assignment feel much less mysterious.

Using the feedback from previous weeks, I spent most of my time revisiting my own facial animation. Ting had pointed out that the transitions between expressions felt too slow and lacked enough breakdowns. She encouraged me to make some of the changes snappier and reminded me that the body and head should not remain completely still while the face moves. Adding these subtle movements made a surprising difference and helped prevent the character from feeling rigid. Although facial animation still felt challenging, I began to understand that expressions are not simply about moving facial controls but about creating a complete performance.

I also continued working on my “Heavy Object / Change of Mind” shot, but by this point I realized I had become completely lost. After so many passes and adjustments, I had lost sight of what I was trying to achieve and found myself constantly fixing one thing only to break another. When I spoke to Ting about this, she suggested something I initially found difficult to accept: starting over. Since the Easter break was approaching, she recommended putting the shot aside and beginning again later with a clearer plan. After thinking about it, I realised this was probably the best option. Starting from scratch would allow me to focus on the Project 1 deadline coming up in a few weeks and, more importantly, give me the opportunity to rethink the shot and establish a better workflow. Although it felt frustrating to abandon so much work, I began to see that sometimes starting over is not a failure but an opportunity to apply everything I have learned with a fresh perspective.

This week focused on eye animation and the role that blinks, eye darts and eyebrow movements play in creating natural facial performances. Ting explained that blinks should not be added randomly, but should serve a purpose, often accompanying changes in thought, attitude or direction. She also demonstrated how eye darts can make a character feel alive and emphasized the idea that thoughts lead the eyes and the eyes lead the body. After the lecture, she gave a short demonstration of her own workflow for animating eyes in Maya. I really enjoyed seeing this because it is easy to focus on principles in isolation, but watching an experienced animator actually apply them gave me a better understanding of the process and the order in which she tackles different parts of the face.

Our assignment this week was to connect the three facial poses we had created previously. At first I thought this would be similar to pose-to-pose body animation, but I quickly realised that facial animation has very different timing requirements. Expressions often change quickly and snappily, and the challenge was less about creating movement and more about figuring out when that movement should happen. I spent a lot of time experimenting with eye darts and blinks, trying to avoid making the transitions feel robotic. It was also interesting to think about which parts of the face should lead and which parts should follow. Although I found the process frustrating at times, it made me appreciate how much subtlety goes into facial animation and how much information can be communicated through very small changes.

I also revisited my “Heavy Object / Change of Mind” shot for another pass. Based on Ting’s feedback, I focused on improving the weight and paying more attention to the shape of the back when the character bent down to pick up the ball. However, I began to feel the effects of doing too many passes on the same shot. After making so many adjustments, I found myself becoming lost in the keys and struggling to remember the intention behind certain poses. Instead of making clear improvements, I was sometimes creating new problems while trying to fix old ones. This experience made me realise that there is a point where repeatedly tweaking an animation can become counterproductive.

Looking back, this week taught me an important lesson about iteration. While it is important to keep refining a shot, there is also value in knowing when to step back and simplify. Seeing Ting’s workflow reminded me that animation is often about making deliberate choices rather than endlessly adjusting every controller. I am beginning to understand that reference, planning and clarity are just as important as technical skill, and that sometimes taking a break from a shot can help reveal problems more clearly than another pass ever could.