High school Year 8 Animation
Year 8 Projects
I was advised to look into other Year 8 projects starting with animation and what I found was nothing to do with the specific year so I had to diversify into just high school animation projects, I didn’t happen to find much apart from a short animation video on organ donation, the reason I could not find much is most of my searches brought up animations talking about peoples high school life.
(High school students create animations – redford animation project 2015)
I then looked at year 8 expectations as a whole & found a curriculum for the Eden boy’s school (Curriculum), what I found out is that a lot is expected from a year 8 student however most of the stuff they need to complete their tasks is provided to them & any research they have to do is basic at best, this means finding assets to use for my project is the best move since a high school student is not expected to create extremely complex things and instead is helped to create the overall project.
Compared to my project high schoolers are very small in terms of size and scope but if I use found assets the size of my project is reduced since all I will need to do is put everything together and make it move which will make it almost the same as a high school project.
University Year 3 Animation
Since I’m making an animation in the style of a medieval fantasy I am going to have to do research in that particular area & I think a good starting point would be to research Archetypes & explain what the key ones are in anime, Especially in Isekai animes (transported to another world) which always has a Medevil fantasy setting.
There are a lot of stereotypes & tropes in anime, the most talked about ones actually come from the fantasy setting since it’s an extremely popular genre, The main reason its so popular is because of the subgenre Isekai [Transported to another world]
Medevil Fantasy Anime Stereotypes
Over Powered Main Character
In most Isekai animes the main character starts as a nobody but suddenly becomes all-powerful after reincarnating “Until they die and reincarnated or they had been summon into another world and suddenly they became the most power beings ever!” (What are the most common tropes/cliches you see in isekai … – quora) this is a trope that I do and don’t enjoy since it leaves out a lot of hardship and struggle which builds character, I personally will not be using this trope because of that.
Medieval Times Setting
Yes it is true a lot of medieval fantasy is set in medieval times though the guy in the post is referring to Isekai’s the majority are set in a medieval fantasy setting “Yet another isekai anime where it took place in the middle ages” (What are the most common tropes/cliches you see in isekai … – quora) this so-called trope is not really a bad one but it does not have to be this way you could write the same kind of story in modern times and it would still work but it would be a modern fantasy, not a medieval one.
Elemental Magic
Even I’ve noticed that in a lot of anime that involves magic or an ability similar to magic its always split into either 4 or 6 categories “In ancient times, nature was categorized into the four elements of air, earth, fire, and water. The powers balance out when paired against another” (McKeever, 11 fantasy tropes that will never get old 2022) the other two would be dark & light its a little overused but not bad since magic needs to be categorized to help the viewer understand, I won’t be using or categorizing my magic in my animation since there won’t be time to explain it, so the viewer will have to discern for themselves and I guarantee these 6 elements are what they will categorize the spells into.
Harems
This is a massive trope, perhaps one of the biggest in anime = because almost 90% of all animes use this one “Let’s all agreed that this genre is overused for the past decade now” (What are the most common tropes/cliches you see in isekai … – quora), I wouldn’t say its inherently bad but it’s overused, mostly by animes that have no reason to use it other than to almost clickbait people into watching, however, it does little to add to there stories and most creators have no idea how to write a good love triangle let alone a harem, Obviously I won’t be using this since I don’t have the timeframe or the understanding to do it right.
Character Archetypes
There are many character archetypes but I found 12 of the most common ones (The 12 most common anime character archetypes, explained 2022) these archetypes are used a lot in anime and so I think its good idea to explain what each one is.
For my animations, I Most likely won’t use any of these archetypes since there won’t be enough time to solidify the characters in any true sense though archetypes like Tsundere are easy to use because all I need to do is write one line that makes a character seem pouty.
Normal Archetypes
These archetypes are used a lot in most shonen type animes since they are most of the fighting oriented archetypes but they can be used anywhere.
The Genius
This character appears to be great at everything they do and no one can come to surpass them so they are called genius because of the there high level of talent however a lot of the time these characters will have a secret flaw like not being able to swim.
The Hardworking
The hardworking as the name sounds, work themselves to the bone to achieve their dreams they usually start off not having much talent but though there hard work slowly become exceptional to the point of being overpowered.
The Quiet & mysterious
It’s a character that is unwilling to talk or talk much to anyone, it makes them hard to approach but that does not mean they are cold hearted.
The No Brains & All brawn
Its a very used Archetype, where a character has not much in the smarts department but when it comes to throwing punches they have the power to level mountains, they don’t let there low IQ get in the way but sometimes it creates problems.
The Lucky One
A character thats always wins everything or is able to avoid things that would usually become fatal to most people if it came there way, the amount of luck they have is beyond what anyone would or should have, its usually said they have plot armour and for this archetype, it would not be wrong to think so since that’s the point.
Dere Archetypes
Dere archetypes in anime are most known for the Yandere & Tsundere since they are way overused
Yandere
This Archetype refers to an Absolutely crazy character that is head over heals for another character and will do whatever it takes to make sure they are the only one in their life regardless of the consequences.
Tsundere
The Tsundere refers to a character who appears tough and angry on the outside to certain characters but inside they are secretly in love with those characters.
Himedere
Himedere’s think they should be treated like royalty, they are usually high-class aristocrat characters and come off as arrogant.
Sadodere
The Sadodere Archetype is basically someone who shoves sadomasochism onto another character that they have taken an interest in.
Maydere
A Maydere is a character that is a villain but changes their ways due to them starting to like another character on the heroes side.
Dandere
The humble dandere is a shy character who is constantly watching the character they like but never managing to actually approach them easily.
Kamidere
A Kamidere much like the Himedere thinks of themselves as better than everyone else however the Kamidere thinks of themselves much like a god and think they deserve that level of respect.
Audience, & Purpose
For my animations, audience research is not very important since I am not making it to be targeted at any particular age group or people, the only person or persons I am making the animations for is myself & any potential employers, Since I will be placing the animations onto my Artstation and other portfolio sites.
The audience serves no purpose in my animation project since I don’t know who will be watching it outside of myself, Teachers & potential employers nor can I speculate who would be interested in watching such animations even though I know “Audience refers to the reader(s), eg could be an individual, in the case of a text message, or a broader group of people in the case of a magazine article or blog” (Audience, purpose and form – edexcel – GCSE English language revision – edexcel – BBC bite-size) this does not make it any easier to guess who would watch my animations.
Purpose refers to the reason for the writing, eg to persuade the reader, to entertain them, to share information, to warn, to advise, to explain. (Audience, purpose and form – audience, purpose and form – edexcel – GCSE English language revision – edexcel – BBC bite-size) And I think the main purpose of my animations is to show the amount of skill I have learned over the years, other than that, its to entertain people which is a weak answer but it is the truth I want to make good stories that people can connect with and enjoy.
Market & Technology
There is a lot of technology in animation from all the programs used to create the animations to the large-scale motion capture rigs that they use to keyframe, of course, these all range from Free to millions of pounds, and there are hundreds of animation studios utilising a range of different techniques and technology the biggest ones would be Disney, industrial light and magic, Pixar & Dreamworks thanks to all there work on various Animations and CGI work.
All these companies use programs such as Autodesk 3ds Max, Autodesk MAYA, Z-Brush, Blender, Substance Painter, Krita, Adobe Creative Cloud Programs & more, there are too many to list but each one is an essential part of a well-oiled pipeline which uses hundreds of employees to create these animations and CGI.
Mainstream Market
Animation is a very lucrative market with billions flowing into it each year one source estimated that, in 2022, the value of the global animation market would amount to over 391 billion U.S. dollars (Navarro, Global animation market value 2020-2030 2022) which is a lot of money meaning that animation is a great business to get into.
The animations I’m Making are great to show employers that I can slot into the mainstream market & be part of their team without too much being changed, so it’s essential that I create the animations professionally.
Youtube
There is not only the mainstream animation industry but even on Youtube, there is a market for animation content since An article said that those who join YouTube’s Partner Program receive between $1,500 and $4,500(US) for every million video views (Amidi, How much money animated shorts earn on YouTube 2012) which means if you get big with the animations you create and post on youtube you could be making enough money to be self-sustaining.
Even as just a side project in the long run posting the animations I make In this project to youtube could become a large income stream for me which will help me to create even more animations which Is just what I want.
Amidi, A. (2012) How much money animated shorts earn on YouTube, Cartoon Brew. Available at: https://www.cartoonbrew.com/ideas-commentary/how-much-money-animated-shorts-earn-on-youtube-58388.html (Accessed: December 4, 2022).
Audience, purpose and form – audience, purpose and form – edexcel – GCSE English language revision – edexcel – BBC bitesize (no date) BBC News. BBC. Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zs7nycw/revision/1#:~:text=Audience%20refers%20to%20the%20reader,%2C%20to%20advise%2C%20to%20explain. (Accessed: December 7, 2022).
High school students create animations – redford animation project (2015) YouTube. YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWj07MqLizs (Accessed: December 4, 2022).
McKeever, M. (2022) 11 fantasy tropes that will never get old, Game Rant. Available at: https://gamerant.com/best-fantasy-tropes-never-get-old/ (Accessed: December 4, 2022).
Navarro, J.G. (2022) Global animation market value 2020-2030, Statista. Available at: https://www.statista.com/statistics/817601/worldwide-animation-market-size/#:~:text=Oct%207%2C%202022,billion%20dollars%20a%20year%20earlier. (Accessed: December 4, 2022).
The 12 most common anime character archetypes, explained (2022) whatNerd. Available at: https://whatnerd.com/most-common-anime-character-archetypes-explained/ (Accessed: December 4, 2022).
What are the most common tropes/cliches you see in isekai … – quora (no date). Available at: https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-most-common-tropes-cliches-you-see-in-Isekai-mangas-animes (Accessed: December 4, 2022).
