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Layla Jioussy

Hello everyone, today I wanted to tell you all about how my animation journey started. Before I tell you about my first project, let me explain how I got the opportunity to do this in the first place, through ROPEs. ROPEs is a year long project where eighth graders in a program get the opportunity to pick any independent topic or project they like, and spend a year working on it. Students are supposed to pick something that they are truly interested in and can challenge them. The point of this is to allow students to learn skills that are not usually gone deeply into in their classroom environment like planning, developing, documenting, and presenting their projects. Throughout this experience, each student is required to find a mentor who can guide them and give advice.

Now since you know a little about the general project, let me tell you about the process of my personal project, Story Animation, and the ups and downs that I experienced.

Summary and Analysis:

When I first brainstormed my R.O.P.E.s project, I knew I wanted to do something around art since it is one of my passions. Since I enjoy music and drawing, I decided to combine these hobbies through a Story Animation that could teach kids a valuable lesson. I created a storyline featuring a broccoli and a carrot as rivals in a school talent show music battle. The carrot, Carlin, plays the piano, while the mean broccoli, Broci, plays the flute. After Carlin wins, they realize their rivalry is unnecessary and become friends, teaching kids not to let competition get in the way of being respectful.

With my idea in place, I started designing using Adobe CC tools. I drew scenes in Adobe Fresco, edited them in Photoshop, and animated them in Adobe Animate. My mentor advised me to create a storyboard to visualize my ideas, which helped me break the story into manageable scenes.

After completing the storyboard, I started drawing my scenes before animating. I then watched tutorials to get started using Adobe Animate and started with simple animations to build my skills. However, animating the first scene took an entire semester due to issues like drawing everything on one layer, which slowed me down. I learned the importance of using layers and even sought help on Adobe Community.

By February of the second semester, I was worried about finishing on time, especially with setbacks like file upload issues and recording audio with background noise. I ended up using pre-recorded audio from MuseScore for the music battle to save time. These challenges made me procrastinate, but I eventually completed my animation, which is one of my biggest accomplishments!

Now, it was time for ROPEs night. The night went well; I presented very confidently, which I’m proud of, and I enjoyed watching others share their projects. Overall, I’m glad I accomplished this challenging experience!

My Mentor:

One person I credit a lot is my mentor, Bisan Suleiman.

Bisan is a graduate of U.C. Berkeley and a family friend. Finding her as a mentor was easy because she’s always been a great listener and great at giving advice. With her background in graphic design and a recent 3D animation project, she provided invaluable advice that helped me get far.

Bisan introduced me to storyboarding, which helped me visualize my ideas and put them into pictures. Her amazing listening skills were essential for understanding my challenges and giving me constructive feedback. I’m completely grateful for her support; she’s an amazing mentor.

What I Learned:

Throughout this project, I learned a lot, not just about animation but also about myself. I picked up techniques in Adobe Fresco, like using layers to separate parts of my drawings, which made animating much easier. I faced challenges with uploading files to Adobe Creative Cloud that affected my motivation to continue but I pushed through.

I also learned how to animate using tools such as symbols and motion tweens. When I encountered issues, I posted on Adobe Community, realizing I tend to write long questions. My dad advised me that shorter posts might get more attention, so I tried that for a follow-up question. Additionally, I discovered that I procrastinate, especially since my project was entirely indoors, while I prefer outdoor activities. Overall, I improved my time management and persistence skills by dedicating consistent time to my project.

What I Would Do Differently:

Reflecting on this project, there are a few things I would do differently. First, I just want to say that I would still choose animation as my project all over again, despite the stress it caused.

I would focus more on managing my time better by working more consistently on my project, procrastinating less, and dedicating equal time each day or every other day instead of cramming on weekends. Additionally, I’d meet with my mentor more frequently, as there were times we went two months without contact. More regular meetings could have provided valuable advice to enhance my animation.

Project Continuation:

I’m excited to continue the project and hobby I developed a strong interest in during this year-long journey. Despite the challenges and time commitment, I gained a valuable skill that can entertain others.

In the near future, I plan to create a YouTube channel to share my ROPEs project animation and future projects. I want to make shorter animations that my peers can relate to, as well as informative ones that can teach people something new. This experience has been a fantastic opportunity to expand my knowledge and skills, and I’m grateful for it. Currently, I have been working on a new animation and will create my channel soon.

In conclusion, this year-long journey has been both challenging and rewarding. Through my R.O.P.E.s project, I not only gained animation skills but also discovered valuable lessons about time management, presenting/planning skills, and how to express my ideas through a story. I’m excited to continue exploring this passion and sharing my creations with others. I hope you enjoyed this post and learned about my experience starting animation.

Here are some photos from the process: