Hello!
My Name is EJ Cail and I’m a student at Francis Tuttle Technology Center as a 2D Animation Student. I am certified in Adobe Photoshop, After Effects, and Toon Boom Harmony. In addition to art, I love to sing and watch cartoons.
My Work
If you want to see my Animatic, view here.
If you want to see my Character Turnaround Sheet, view here.
BPA Animation Project
This project was different from anything i’ve ever done as it was a group animation project for BPA. Our prompt was: “Create a 2D animation that showcases a diverse group of students or citizens from around the world using Internet of Things (IoT) devices and smart technology to observe, collect, and share environmental data through the NASA GLOBE Program.” I was tasked with the role of animator.
Ideas
Me and my group decided we wanted our project to resemble 80s and 90s PSAs because of their cheesy vibe and easy-to-understand language. We planned our story and characters around those ideas
Our style sheet makes sure that the characters, backgrounds, props, and story stay consistent.
My teammate Ivan designed our two characters which I based my character rigs on.
Animation Tests
After constructing the character rigs, I made animation tests so our director Loki could approve of the way I was animating.
Once the tests were approved, I was in the clear to start animating
Blocking
The first think I did was blocking out the movement of each character. Here is a blocked out scene:
As you can see, I kept it very simple with basic poses and no faces, backgrounds or props. I added these after the blocking was approved and also fixed minor mistakes.
Final Products and Thoughts
I’m so proud of the work me and my teammates put into this project. I made a lot of mistakes especially during the rigging process. For example, I only made one section for the entire arm when it is recommended you break it into the upper arm and forearm. Things like that required me to make quick decisions and fixes that I had to kearn from so I wouldn’t make the same mistakes in the future. Overall, I am extremely happy with the final product and I feel like I’ve learned a lot from this process.
Scooby Doo Theme
For this project I was tasked with making an animation of my choice from any length over 15 seconds, and 30 hrs to work on it. The story follows the Scooby gang in a theme song for a little project I’ve been working on on the side.
Ideas
I’ve had a basic story and character design laid out for months for the main story but the theme song was a bit trickier since I didn’t want to use voice lines.
After knowing what I wanted them to look like, I needed to start storyboarding to get a basic idea of how I wanted the story to go
Final Products and Thoughts
Like on previous projects, I wish I had spent more time on the actual animating than on the planning. I loved this project so much but I didn’t get to do everything I wanted/make it look as good as I wanted. I’ve definitely learned my lesson and will plan to spend not so much planning so I can make it look even better
My After Effects Animatic
For this project I was tasked with making a 1 minute animation to a song of my choice, and 30 hrs to work on it. The story follows my character Violet (from my previous project) who has just transferred to public Magic School and isn’t quite up to speed on how things work, so Hexana decides to tease her about it.
Ideas
I had an idea of what song I wanted to use and how I wanted them to act, but I needed my actors! Of course Violet’s design was easiest as I just had to give her a new school uniform. Hexana was my favorite to make because she’s based off of popular magician characters, including Trixie Lulamoon who is singing the song. The extras or Hexana’s gang were just some basic designs I had floating around in my head.
After figuring out the basic designs, I started with quick sketches of ideas I had for the animatic. All in All, this took probably longer than it should have, and it ate into the time I had to actually draw the piece.
Final Products and Thoughts
Overall, I wish I hadn’t spent so much time on the storyboard and spent it on the animatic. I am very happy with how it turned out for my first time though. I know I will have time to learn and grow and that this is no different. I gave it my best effort which effectively solves the problem of creating a piece to put in my profile.
My Character Turnaround Sheet
I was tasked with making a turnaround sheet for this lovely character within 10 days (30hrs). I wanted to appeal to pre-teens and teens with bright colors and relatable clothes. The problem I had to solve, was creating a piece that fit the specifications within the timeframe that could help me get a job/ into college.
Pre-production
First, I started with making a mood-board to lay out what I had imagined in my head, along with name and color ideas.
Then, I sketched out what would become Violet, including all the required poses and expressions. I also added little accessories at the bottom as a treat.
Products and Final Thoughts
Below is my finished product, including my colored character sheet and GIF turnaround.
Overall, I was very pleased with how it turned out, I wish my line width was more consistent but other than that, I was very proud of myself for completing my first project. I think this piece solves the problem as I met all project requirements and it shows my creativity.
Get in Touch
Like what you see?
Contact Me!