We had our first Hydra Media Studio meeting of the year yesterday and are ready to get started on some new collaborative projects. The clip above shows the walk through of the museum we created last year and it’s on our agenda to upgrade and add new content to this. We also have lots of plans for new projects including games, zines, animations and graphics – we would love to hear from you if you would like to get involved with the studio or have a project idea. Get in touch at hydramediastudio@napier.ac.uk to find out more or be added to our discord. We meet regularly online and in person so you can be involved as much or as little as you like.
Author: fionastewart (Page 1 of 7)
Huge congratulations to our class of 2025, who presented their work at our exhibition day recently. Students of Digital Media and Interaction Design, Sound Design, Web Design and Development, UX Design and Animation for Games, demoed their projects to friends, family and industry experts, sharing all the fantastic work they have made this year. The showreel above features clips and posters from all the students that took part.
Look out for posts with more details of some of the projects soon and get in touch if you would like to be added to the invite list for next year!
Our year 4 students are putting the finishing touches to their Honours Projects ready to share them at the exhibition on the 14th May. Please drop in to Merchiston Campus between 11 and 12.30 to meet the students and see a huge range of projects. We’ll also be sharing their work here over the next few weeks.
The Hydra Media Studio are currently working on their first exhibit, the Museum of You, which will premiere at the School of Computing, Engineering and the Built Environment Exhibition on the 14th of May. The team have used games engines to create a virtual museum, which they are planning to fill with exhibits that represent the projects and personal memories of our current students. Alongside this we have a team of year 3 students who are documenting Hydra Media Studio’s development, so look out for the short film coming soon.
If you are a current student who would like to get involved with the Museum of You or future projects, come along to Room D35 each Friday at 10am or drop us a line for the Teams link or to join our Discord for our virtual catch ups –hydramediastudio@napier.ac.uk
Our post today is written by Logan Campbell, reflecting on his experience studying in Australia. The video shown here was made for a documentary class and explores the first few days abroad – as you can see from the images below, Logan quickly made friends and threw himself into enjoying his time away.
Studying abroad has been, without a doubt, the most exhilarating experience of my life! My semester at Murdoch University in Perth, Australia, was a whirlwind adventure that led me to experience the whole weather spectrum spanning from February to June. I was welcomed by a scorching 45°C heat and left amid thunderstorms with temperatures dropping to the 10°Cs. This journey pushed me out of my comfort zone and led me to incredible experiences I never imagined. From snorkelling with whale sharks and giant turtles in the Indian Ocean to chasing kangaroos across a rural Australian farm, not to mention meeting Eric the pig! The friendships I forged during this time are now my second family and the connections I made will impact and undoubtedly benefit me now and in the future.
When I first saw Murdoch University on the list of exchange destinations, I hesitated. The thought of flying solo and leaving behind my friends and family was daunting, especially since I had never ventured outside Europe before. But I’m incredibly grateful I took the leap as if I had to do it all again, I would dive in headfirst without a second thought. This journey ignited a passion for travel, and now I have plans to explore Europe and North America after graduation next year. Studying abroad also opened my eyes to global career opportunities in my field, helping me envision and plan a future that extends far beyond the confines of university life.
To summarise, do it. Just, do it!
Thanks to Logan Campbell (BSc Digital Media and Interaction Design Global) for writing this piece and letting us share his media. If you are a current student and fancy an adventure like this – have a chat with your programme leader.
For her honours project Anna Llompart Reus developed “Mindscape”, a Virtual Reality game developed with Unreal Engine 5, featuring six different levels. Mindscape aims to boost mental wellbeing among university students by intertwining Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Mindfulness in an immersive narrative. The project explores VR’s effectiveness compared to non-VR interventions, highlighting VR’s potential for enhanced immersion and interaction in mental health support.
Anna concluded that although further research is required to fully comprehend the impact of VR for wellbeing, her project indicated a promising avenue for digital mental health interventions.
The images below show some of the detail of the project and you can see more of Anna’s work here – ArtStation – Anna Llompart
This post is part of a series celebrating the work the year 4 students have created for their honours projects. Thanks to Anna for allowing us to feature this work.
“The Tourist” is a short animation created by Manuel Herrera Reyes, based on the idea that even Monsters like to post reviews about their travels. Manuel’s love of quirky characters and fairytales is clear throughout the film, which also features some other surprise characters, that even the Monster decides are not worth eating!
Map showing the environment where the story takes place.
“The Tourist” Main character design
Additional Character Designs
This work was created for the 2D animation module run by Fiona Stewart and Andrew McKelvey. Thanks to Manuel for allowing us to feature his work.
Kakapookie is a short animation created by Kateryna Fatnieva for the 2D Animation module. The story features Kakapookie, who is based on the rare Kakapo, a ground dwelling parrot. In Kateryna’s story the bird turns out not to be quite as cute and cuddly as it looks! The illustrations were created using Illustrator before being animated in After Effects.
Character designs created in Adobe Illustrator
You can follow Kateryna on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/kateryna-fatnieva-6974621b5/
This work was created for the 2D animation module run by Fiona Stewart and Andrew McKelvey. Thanks to Kateryna for allowing us to feature her work.
Goodnight Sara is a short animation made by Rebecca Allen for her year 2 2D animation project. In the film Sara discovers that being tired and stressed can lead to unexpected consequences.
Initial Character design for Sara
Design for Sara’s bedroom
Rebecca created her characters and backgrounds in Procreate to give a hand-drawn feel before rigging and animating in After Effects.
You can see more of Rebecca’s work here – https://rebeccaallen0429.wixsite.com/rebecca-allen-media or on instagram @rebeccaallen.media
This work was created for the 2D animation module run by Fiona Stewart and Andrew McKelvey. Thanks to Rebecca for allowing us to feature her work.
Several of our Digital Media and Interaction Design and Sound Design students took part in the Global Game Jam at Edinburgh Napier University in January 24. David Richards (Year 4 Digital Media and Interaction Design ) used his illustration skills to help bring two of the games created to life.
He says “It was a brilliant experience! It was so refreshing being able to collaborate with other people with the same passion for video games.” David collaborated on the two games seen here- creating characters and landscape art for “Moonbear Typing” and creating the title screen for “Ye Olde Funnybone”.
You can see more of David’s work here –https://www.artstation.com/deerich98
The Game Jam games for Edinburgh are available here – https://itch.io/jam/edinburgh-ggj24-say-no-to-gai