Yiwei Lu
During my simulated work experience, I assisted Peisen Dong’s project, which centred on a gay character’s three unsuccessful dates. I was responsible for one secondary character design and three illustrations. This experience helped me develop my time management, collaboration skills and adaptability.
My works:
Strengths
For the character design, I basically followed each step that I’ve learnt on Bianca’s course. She introduced us process and tips from a side of professional, I also learnt how to share ideas with clients efficiently. My communication skill significantly improved through this experience. Peisen was open for any feedback, which encouraged me to think independently and give my ideas more confidently. Regular discussions with Peisen and Eleanor ensured my work was developed on the right way. I began to understand that getting feedback at each stage allowed me to adjust in time and helped the work develop efficiently.
I also discovered that I could adapt well to different artistic style. Due to my illustration background, I would like to focus on details of characters, sometimes results became difficult to animate. However, Peisen’s style is more graphic and streamlined. I tried to simplify my designs, while maintaining some elements to highlight character’s trait.
What’s more, research enhanced my design when I worked on the unfamiliar subject. Since I was unfamiliar with the gay community, I chatted with my gay friends, analyzed references sent by Peisen, and created mood board before I worked on the character design. The preparation was the strong base to build the final character.
Challenges
One of challenges I faced was time management. I was suddenly allocated the tasks after I scheduled my following days. Although Peisen extended the working days, I still used more days to finish my work. It made me reflected my wrong estimation of my working time, which taught me to assume and request for the working time before the work started.
Since I didn’t have much animation knowledge yet, another challenge was I lacked confidence in getting involved in an animation project. In fact, none of us had an animation background before. Peisen encouraged us to share ideas, and Eleanor often discussed the project with me, which made me feel my contributions are valuable.
Additionally, making decision was sometimes difficult. Peisen had specific requirement on color use, so Eleanor and I struggled with the color palette. Instead of presenting Peisen all our ideas, we experimented with different options first. That made our discussions more efficient.
From this experience, I understood more about my strengths and areas for improvement. I knew more about the process and communication in the work, which were valuable for my future projects. I found I have big passion on the character design. During the work, I got much positive feedback from Peisen and Eleanor, it motivated me to continue assisting with some animation works.