Research
This logo is the Studio Ghibli logo. In my research in the previous project I talked about this studio. It is a 2D Japanese animation studio, and that is why I thought it will be relevant example to analyse and talk about.
I think the logo is very simple and straight forward because it has the name of the studio and only has one character. This character is part of one of the most iconic animation produced by this studio "My neighbour Totoro". I this this is very effective as people who see this logo and the character will immediately think of that animation which promotes that the film was made by studio Ghibli.
The light blue colour is very calming and relaxing. I like that it is only one colour as a background because it is not too filled in with extra stuff. The background can sometimes be white in some variations but I think the logo still keeps its meaning no matter the colour change.
This logo is from an anime called "Fullmetal alchemist". The actual logo is red with flat colours and it is very minimalistic. It includes some of the alchemist symbols which is directly linked with the name and what happens in the story. The actual logo is a very minimalist drawing of a dragon chasing its tail, a lot like the rings where a snake has eaten its tail to make a circle. That makes it very symmetrical and very stylish. In the middle the two triangles placed in front of each other. That makes it look like the star of David, however in alchemy it is called the Hexagram and it represent the reconciliation of the opposites of fire and water. It was also used as a sign for quintessence, the fifth element. The colour red is often realted to anger, passion, warmth, and love. It also stands out very well and it is very good at capturing attention. Looking at the logo the colour red is very likely to have a connection with the story of the anime, suggesting danger and aggresion, as well as passion.
I like this logo because I want my logo to have a dragon so this is a good example to look at. Also the reason I like it is because it includes little tiny details that have lots of meaning in them.
DreamWorks films and animations have been a huge part of my childhood and early teens, so I thought that I will analyse the logo that I admired so much when I was little. To start I want to talk about the colour. In the animated version of the logo that always appeared before the beginning of the film, the action is happening in a night sky, filled with clouds that have different shades of blue. In general the logo is blue in its animated and still versions. The blue colour has various different meanings and symbolisms, for example it can signify calm, security, loyalty, creativity, intelligence and stability. I think this as a good choice of colour as it can stand out a lot and also is suggesting about the creative nature of the studio and its works.
The font of the logo is very bold and usually the same colour as the moon. This type of font is very good to capture attention and make the logo memorable. The font is very impactful and even though it doesn't seem very original it definitely is as it underlines the boldness and the uniqueness of the DreamWorks team. The closest font that resemble DreamWorks logo font is Minion Pro Black. I am definitely thinking of maybe using a font that closely resembles this one for my own logo.
This logo is from a very recent show on Cartoon Network, called Infinity Train. it is a short series that will be getting a second season. While I was watching it I really liked the logo, when it appeared as an intro for every episode. The logo is actually animated but I could't find and animated versions. I really like how the text and the curved lines together make the logo look like the infinity sign. I think this is a very smart and interesting way to design the logo.
Chosen Pathway
My chosen pathway is 2D animation and 2D illustration. It is be expected from me to be creative and resourceful. Also I will need to have extensive knowledge of the subject and the softwares that I will need to use, for example Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Animate and Adobe Illustrator, in order to complete my work efficiently and with good quality, and before everything to have good drawing skills in order to present my ideas the way I want them.
I will be expected to know foundational things about 2D animation and Illustration for example to have a good knowledge of the 12 principles of animation, scene transition and crowd animation.
To be successful with the design of my logo I will need to follow few steps that will make it satisfactory for my future employers. I'll need to design it in a way so it meets their expectations. For example I will most likely need to feature bright but flat colours in my logo, and also maybe include a character made be me, in order to emphasise on what I specialise in or make the logo animated if I am applying for an animator's position.
Typography in logos
The first thing that I notice when I look at this logo is the neon green colour and the slightly italic letters. It give the logo quite futuristic and cyber punk feel, that I think matches the show. The green shining is very common in the actual show. I like that the letters a quite condensed and thin. I searched a lot for a font that is similar to the Infinity train one, but I couldn't find much information, so I think that it may be a customised one, and is not available for use.
The font of the logo is very bold unlike the "infinity train" . This type of font is very good to capture attention and make the logo memorable. The font is very impactful and even though it doesn't seem very original it definitely is as it underlines the boldness and the uniqueness of the DreamWorks team. The closest font that resemble DreamWorks logo font is Minion Pro Black.
The Disney logo has very unique typography, that is very well know and recognised. I like that font it looks that is handwritten. It looks very original and reinforces the idea of the magical touch, for which Disney films and animations are so well known. The name of the font is called Waltograph and it is an original font. The logo has different variations, some have the well know Mickey Mouse, but this one has the Cinderella castle as its main attention capturer. It is always a good idea to have an image or a character, like most logos as it captures more attention if the character or the image is well recognised, for example the fishing boy sitting on the moon of dreamworks is easily associated with the company.
Downloading and installing a brush in Adobe Photoshop
Because I was looking for a brush that will give dragon scales effect, as one of my classmates suggested. I went to a website for brushes for downloading called "Brusheezy", and looked for something that will fit. Then I saw brushes that created "cracks" effect and I really liked how they looked so I decided to give them a go. First I downloaded them from the website and put the zip file, which I later opened, on the desktop, so wont loose it.
Because I didn't know how to to install the brushes or how to add them to Photoshop I looked for some tutorials that could help. I looked on youtube as I find it easier to see and hear the steps I need to follow, rather when they are written. The first video I watched was not quite helpful as the animate version in it was older than the one I use so the settings and steps I had to follow for this one weren't matching.
The second tutorial that I watched was exactly what I needed in order to install my downloaded brushes. To install the the brushes I first needed to make sure I had the brush panel that is usually on the right hand side of the screen when I open photoshop.
Sometimes here
In my case
I had to press the icon on the very top of the brush panel on the right hand side. Then when the menu opens I have to click on "Import brushes", the I have to find the brushes from the desktop and choose the file. And once I click on them they will be in the brush panel in a folder under the name of the brush that I downloaded. By opening the folder I could view the brushes and choose them by clicking.
Masking in animate
I wanted to create a mask in animate with the same effect as photoshop, but since to two softwares are different I had to make that that an option like that does really exist. I found a video on how to create mask in animate. I watched it to see if it is what I'm looking for, and at the end this actually gave me a cool idea for animation for my logo.
At the beginning of the video the person starts by creating a text, an object that needs to be masked. Then on a different layer he created the object that will create the masking effect. He added 45 frames to each layer and then clicked on the one that had the masking object and right clicked on the frames of that layer and choose "Create Motion Tween". Then he dragged the masking object in a zigzag motion, creating a new keyframe every time he stopped the circle at any location. When that was done he right clicked the actual layer and then clicked on "mask". A little icon appears in front of the layer marking it as a mask. In order to maks the text he put the text under the mask.
Key Poses
This is video by the youtuer Jazza, on how to animate transformation. I didn't need the transformation even-thought it was quite useful knowledge. I have watched this video recently and remember that he was talking about drawing the key poses first and then going in between those two key poses and drawing what is happening in between those two poses, and then go in between those two frames.
I found this quite useful as before when I was animate I would do key frame after key frame without leaving a free one and I would struggle to animate the next frame as wouldn't have anything to guide me, so when I finish the animation will look somewhat fast and unnatural.