Completed Creative CV

Below is the completed design for my creative CV. I have stayed faithful to the branding used on my website and social media, incorporating the cardboard aesthetic representative of my use of collage style in many of my animations. This works well as it provides the overall design with both colour and texture without causing the CV to appear garish or over the top. As I mentioned in my creative CV research post earlier, I was very taken by the use of horizontal bars to display skill levels in different areas. I employed this technique in my design, however unlike many creative CVs I have seen, I opted to have the bars span the full width of the screen; this suggests that although I feel I have less skill in some areas e.g. Adobe Illustrator, I still have plenty of skill to use the program comfortably. I am pleased with the layout also, as it is fairly spacious and text is broken up into small, manageable segments.

Final Showreel

Having completed my third year final film, I have finally been able to edit my showreel (posted previously) to include my most recent work. In addition to this, I have updated the splash screens at the beginning and end of my showreel to match the branding as used on my social media pages and website:

Creative CV Inspiration

Today I set about looking into existing creative CV designs. In this post I will compare and contrast a number of creative CVs to determine what makes a successful design.

The primary source for the designs featured in this post was Pinterest.

The first CV that caught my eye did so due to it's pure simplicity. The layout is exceptionally tidy and well broken up to clearly denote different areas of the CV. The colour scheme is very reserved, which works in a way, however even the edition of some more very subdued colour would make the piece more eye-catching as a whole. the use of horizontal bars to indicate different skill levels works well and provides a much more clear interpretation of competency in each area than a brief description would. The amount of text is just right in this CV, there are no excessively lengthy paragraphs and all the text is broken up into manageable chunks.

This CV is slightly less minimalistic than the first CV I looked at, yet shows how the use of slightly more colour can make a design more eye-catching. The addition of an earthy brown tone also makes the CV feel more warm and inviting - which may or may not be appropriate depending on the recipient. A more casual company may take well to a CV that feels warm and inviting, whereas a corporation might view colder tones as more professional.

Moving onto a different design entirely, this CV incorporates imagery much more strongly. While this definitely reiterates the applicant's status as a designer, I'm not sure the imagery has been used to the best effect in terms of layout etc. and have a tendency to make the CV look quite claustrophobic and cluttered. The use of a large block of unbroken text at a small font size right at the beginning of the CV also makes the design feel cluttered and cramped. The info-graphic style is however quite eyecatching.

I particularly enjoy the use of texture in this CV, it adds substance to the CV and makes it feel less clinical, without having to incorporate a lot of colour into the design. That said, the subtle implementation of colour in the skill wheel really makes the design pop, and directs the eye immediately to the skills of the applicant, instantly enabling an employer to ascertain how talented the individual is in different areas.

From this exercise I have learned that in creating my creative CV I should:

• Use a reserved amount of subdued colour
• Incorporate a subtle texture to in the design if appropriate
• Use images, but not too much
• Avoid blocks of unbroken text
• Break up information into clear, easily definable sections

Domain Name Update

As I mentioned in a previous post, I had not been able to secure a .com or .co.uk domain name featuring of my own name and as such opted for the domain name 'theclockworkdog.com'. Today however, I was able to purchase the domain name 'Dan-Hodgson.com'. I have linked this domain name to my website however I am in two minds as to whether or not to completely replace my existing domain name with it.

The reason I am unsure as to whether or not to replace my domain name completely is that I feel 'theclockworkdog' is a much more unique and memorable name than 'Dan-hodgson', particularly as the hyphenation used in the latter will inevitably lead to confusion, given that when typed without the hyphen a different site is accessed.

For now, my intention is to use the domain name 'Dan-hodgson' to promote my website professionally (for business cards etc.), while retaining the primary domain name 'theclockworkdog' for its memorability. In either case, a google search for 'Dan Hodgson Animation' still provides a link to my website.

Link to my website (New Domain): http://www.Dan-Hodgson.com

Final Logo Design

In a previous post, I discussed how my logo had developed since my initial experimentation. I talked about how the simplicity and texture of the logo was important to me. In that spirit I decided to have another attempt at simplifying my logo to it's most basic form, while still maintaining readability and texture. This is the result:

I'm really happy with this logo - the round shape feels more friendly than my previous attempts, and my initials sit together more legibly, rather than having one within the other. Furthermore, this is such a simple design that it could easily be transferred to solid black and white for use as a letter header or watermark. I am confident that this will be the final design of my logo.

My task now is to update the headers and backgrounds of my social media pages and website in order to correspond to this logo. Here are some examples of the designs I shall be using to accompany my logo:

Standard Social Media Page Header

Semi-transparent Watermark

Website Header

Logo Design Rethink

When I last posted about a potential logo design for my website and social media branding, I was experimenting with the use of an animated character gif. Since then, I have come to the conclusion that this would simply be too over the top for use as a logo and that I needed to design a logo that was much more subdued and simple while still conveying what my brand is.

Above is my latest logo design, using only my initials portrayed in a collage style, a style frequently used throughout my animations and thus representative of my brand. I was quite happy with this logo as it is clear, clean, simplistic and the texture given by the cardboard provides a richness preventing it from coming across as too plain. The neutral colour is also a positive as it will look fairly complimentary on just about any colour/backdrop when used across my work.

I experimented further with the design and made a slight change, removing the outer stroke from the letter D, simplifying the design somewhat more. Below is the result, along with the text that will accompany the logo on social media headers and on my website. 

Showreel First Draft

Responding to what I learned during the last showreel session, I have now produced a draft of my own animation showreel. As I mentioned in my last post, I wanted to ensure that my showreel was both as short as possible while still showcasing my best work and that I featured my best work at the beginning of the video, and the end of the video. I considered this during the production of my showreel and was very pleased with the results.

During this week's session we were tasked with presenting our showreel to the rest of the class for feedback. My showreel was generally well received, with one minor criticism - the 3D segment let's the showreel down. For my completed showreel, I intend to remove this segment and replace it with footage from my third year final animation. Expanding on this point, I feel that this piece should also be removed given that I would prefer to be represented as a traditional animator with skills in digital animation, rather than to be perceived as a wholly 3D animator - as this piece suggests.

Showreel Practice Session

During this week's session, we were tasked with finding ten images from work that inspires us as animators, and placing them within a timeline in Adobe Premiere Pro. The resulting footage lasted around 2 minutes. We then adjusted the timing of each image/removed images from the timeline where necessary in order to crop the video down to only 45 seconds. Below is the piece I produced during the session:

This task highlighted how selective one needs to be when compiling a showreel; particularly in terms of selecting only the best pieces of work, and having them last for just the right amount of time. I found it helpful to carry out such a task using images from other people's work as I found myself being less sentimental as I may have been about removing large segments of my own work from the timeline in order to crop the piece down to showreel length. I also learned the importance of shot placement in a showreel. Initially I had placed all my shots almost at random across the timeline, however we were later told to arrange our footage so that the strongest shots were placed at the beginning and end of our showreels. The effect of this change is that the piece is able to hold the viewers' attention for much longer (if the piece begins on a poor piece of work, viewers are likely to stop watching faster) and leave viewers on a positive note.

I will be preparing a draft of my completed animation showreel for next week.

Showreel Research

Prior to the sessions in which we will be producing our showreels, I researched some showreels from others in the same sector of the animation industry that I aim to get involved in. Below I have listed four of the most notable showreels I looked at, and will explain why I think they worked/didn't work and how I will use this information to ensure my showreel does work.

The first animator I looked into was Matt Timms, a 2D visual effects animator. The first thing that I noticed about this showreel was that it begins and ends with the artist's name, yet no contact details. This seems like a common mistake made in showreels, and I aim to include a complete set of contact details when I produce my showreel.

Besides the lack of contact details I enjoyed this showreel, although it did feel as though the video ran on for far too long considering much of the work is very similar. I found myself wanting to click of the video after a minute or so.

The second showreel I looked into was by 'Tendril'. Although this showreel was around the same length of first one I looked at, it actually felt shorter. This is due to the lack of repetition featured in this video - which also goes to highlight the diversity in Tendril's output, and the range of animation styles they are capable of.

Furthermore, I noted that the music in this piece blended very well with the animation due to it's neutral and reserved nature, whereas the music in Timm's showreel was fairly brash. A neutral audio track will help draw the viewer into the piece without distracting them from the visuals.

The next showreel I looked into was produced by 'Rubber House' - a 2D animation studio.

Once again this showreel features an extremely high quality of work, yet very little variation in terms of the styles showcased in the video - this, once again makes the video feel far too long. The effect of this is that people are likely to click of the video before the end, which is a serious mistake considering this studio only provided details at the end of their video, and even so, their is no contact information, just the name of their studio.

Finally, I looked at a showreel from 'Meindbender Animations'.

Of all the showreels I looked at, this one appeared the most professional and appealing. The music is not too subtle, yet compliments the visuals. The showreel begins and ends with both the studio's name, and a way to get in touch (their website URL). The showreel also shows variety and quality, featuring a range of different animation techniques and projects from the studio. Even though this showreel features a greater amount of project work, it is still the shortest one I have listed.

In conclusion, from my research into existing showreels, I have learned that when I come to produce my final showreel, I should:

• Keep it brief
• Try to use neutral music to avoid jarring audio
• show as wide a variety of project work as possible
• make sure to begin and end with clear contact details

Initial Website Design Ideas

Today I experimented with some simple initial design ideas for my website. My primary intention here was to begin the process of establishing a personal brand for my website and related online pages, such as Twitter, Facebook and Linkedin.

Firstly, I began to consider the type of logo I will be using both on my website and across social media platforms:

Logo Concept Experiment

I wanted to put across what I do while also conveying my personality at the same time. As such I felt it would be interesting to experiment with using an animated logo of myself, created in the style in which I animate/illustrate. I thought this was quite a fun idea, as it immediately tells people that I am and animator in a way that lets them 'get to know me' somewhat. On the downside, in uploading this to my own website, I did find the animation quite distracting to have in my peripherals while viewing portfolio pages etc. If the animation was done subtly enough - or stopped after a set number of loops - this idea may have potential. Of course, in its current form this could not be used as a logo however I think the idea is certainly something to consider and possibly take forward in my final design.

Secondly, I experimented with using some of my illustration work as backgrounds to my pages:

Landing Page Idea

Above is an example of how this would work. I like this idea as it once again provides an immediate impression of the type of work I create as soon as you enter my website. There are a few issues with this concept however, firstly, getting such a background to look good on any computer is somewhat of a challenge without having the image stretch or go off screen, and secondly, text placement is awkward as a result of this. I have got around the issue of having the text cover up the focal points of the image when viewed on different devices by incorporating the text as part of the image file rather than straight text on the webpage itself, although this is still not idea.

Generic webpage background Idea

The next part of this idea was to experiment with backgrounds for the rest of the pages on my website (above). I used images from the same set as that used in the landing page to give a feeling of continuity to the site. These images were blurred slightly to make them more subdued and help to prevent the background imagery from distracting from what is in the foreground.

Personal Branding Presentation

During the session last week, we discussed personal branding and looked into the process of presenting oneself professionally. This involved thinking about qualities, qualifications and work experience which may be desirable to prospective clients and/or employers. Our task for this week was to create a presentation to sell ourselves and our work.

I have attached the slides from my presentation as image files below along with some thoughts as to the content in each slide.

This is my personal statement. I found it key to convey here the diversity of my work, my love for the work I do, and my reliability with regard to meeting external deadlines and working to the briefs of others here.

This video can be watched by clicking here.

I included this piece to demonstrate my ability to create convincing foley audio, as well as my ability to animate traditionally using digital software; in this instance, Flash.

This video can be watched by clicking here.

This piece demonstrated my ability to provide music and voice-over for an animation, my ability to work with fully traditional techniques composited digitally. It also provides an insight into the kind of client work I have produced.

This piece is currently unavailable to view online as it has not been released by the client yet.

This animation again shows my ability to use traditional techniques in a digital environment, yet in a completely different style. This piece was also a commission produced for a client.

This video can be watched by clicking here.

This piece shows my ability to work with traditional techniques in a 3D environment.

This video can be watched by clicking here.

This is an example of my digital 3D work; again reiterating the diversity of software packages and styles I am able to work with. During the presentation, I mentioned that although I am capable of producing 3D animations, it is certainly not a strong suit of mine and that I am much more comfortable working with traditional techniques and primarily in 2D. As such, during the feedback I received from my presentation it was suggested that I should consider not including 3D work in my showreel.

This video can be watched by clicking here.

Finally, this is a commissioned piece which involved collaboration with two other animators. The piece is evidence of my ability to work well both in a team and with clients, it also shows my ability to work with mixed media animation.

This table represents my skills in various software packages. It was suggested during the feedback for my presentation that when I come to compile my creative CV, this would make a good addition.

This is the first time I have presented myself and my work in such a context (i.e. essentially trying to sell oneself). I found it quite difficult to talk about myself during slides which only featured text, as I found myself struggling to elaborate on my points. In presenting my work, however I found it very easy to present confidently with a good balance between presenting in a friendly and somewhat formal manner. 

Having my work on screen to remind me how I feel about the work I do, how I go about creating my work, and where I see my work going in the future really helped me to sell myself. I will bear this in mind during future presentations and similar exercises. Additionally I feel that it may have been beneficial to include links to my social media pages and website within the presentation, as this would have enabled viewers to access the pages on their own, whereas in my presentation I only really showed the highlights from such pages.

Creating a Website

During our first session today we looked what we would be doing over the course of the Distribution Methods and Practices module. Generally, the aim of the module will be to establish a 'personal brand' and to make ourselves as attractive as possible professionally to clients and/or employers. One of the ways in which we will be doing this during the module is to establish a solid online presence and identity, partly through setting up a website on which we will host our work, present ourselves as animators and enable clients and employers to get in touch.

Creating a website to host my work is something I've been very interested since before joining the animation course and I was very keen to start looking into hosting plans and domain-names as soon as we finished todays session. 

I ended up joining 'portfolio box', as service which provides users with a range of customisable templates on which to base their website. The service is also specifically designed for hosting graphic content including video and imagery, making it very easy to update as and when projects are completed.

I had initially wanted the domain name 'www.DanHodgson.com/.co.uk', unfortunately these were unavailable. As such, I opted for 'www.theclockworkdog.com'. 'The Clockwork Dog' is an alias I have used as a username in the past when shocasing my animation, illustration and musical work online in the past. In addition to setting up a website, I also set up a Vimeo plus account. While I already have an account on YouTube onto which I upload more or less all my work, I will be reserving the Vimeo account as a more professional space, on to which I will only be uploading my best/most relevant work along with footage I intend to embed on my website.

Here is the link to my website so far: http://www.theclockworkdog.com/
Currently it is fairly underdeveloped and requires a lot more doing to it before I would consider sharing the page with potential clients/employers, however I have begun to upload examples of my animation and illustration work to the site and everything seems to be going smoothly.