Author: fionastewart (Page 1 of 7)

Guest post: Adventures on the other side of the world by Logan Campbell

14 August 2024 / fionastewart

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.

Featured Honours Project: Mindscape VR by Anna LLompart Reus

10 June 2024 / fionastewart

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

Anna’s poster describes the process she followed during the project.

The Main hub that allows users to choose their path through the game

Soft lighting helps to create a calm atmosphere

Again, lighting was key to creating the calming atmosphere

Interiors contain lots of areas for users to explore

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.

Featured Project: The Tourist by Manuel Herrera Reyes

10 June 2024 / fionastewart

“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.

Featured Project: Kakapookie by Kateryna Fatnieva

10 June 2024 / fionastewart

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.

Featured Project: Goodnight Sara by Rebecca Allen

10 June 2024 / fionastewart

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.

Students take part in Global Game Jam Edinburgh, featuring work by David Richards

5 February 2024 / fionastewart

David created characters and landscape art for “Moonbear Typing”

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”.

The title screen David made for the game “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

Featured Honours Project: Suleyman the Magnificent by Johnny Viola

12 June 2023 / fionastewart

For his honours project, Johnny Viola investigated the use of motion graphics to increase engagement with history. The visuals used updated versions of colours and styles found in paintings of the period, giving the animation a rich texture that adds to the storytelling. Johnny also won a prize for this poster showcasing the work at the Honours poster day.

Visual Development – from sketch to final images

Poster explaining the background to the project

The poster explains the process Johnny followed to create the final motion graphic.

You can see more of Johnny’s work here –johnnyviola.com

This post is part of a series celebrating the work the year 4 students have created for their honours projects. Thanks to Johnny for allowing us to feature this work.

Featured Honours Project: Sensory Soundscapes by Ellen Scott

12 June 2023 / fionastewart

Sensory Soundscapes was created by Ellen Scott for her honours project and focussed on visualisation techniques within virtual reality (VR) experiences. The project offers a unique, interactive and fully multisensory experience that transports participants through three musical environments. Each environment explores a different musical genre and music visualisation technique that users experience in VR via the Oculus Quest 2 headset. The clip above shows a walkthrough of the project, while the images below show some of the interiors created in Unreal Engine.

Different environments were created to represent the different soundscapes

3 different bar interiors were created – this one shows the Jazz bar

The Tiki bar

Ellen’s poster explains the process followed to create the project.

You can see more of Ellen’s work here –https://ellenlarsonscott.wixsite.com/portfolio

This post is part of a series celebrating the work the year 4 students have created for their honours projects. Thanks to Ellen for allowing us to feature this work.

Featured Honours Project: BeWell Mental Wellbeing App by Jonathan Wood

3 May 2023 / fionastewart

BeWell is a mental well-being support and social app aimed at students. Jonathan followed a User centred process, involving his target users throughout to ensure that the solution met their needs. As well as a high-fidelity prototype suitable for user testing he created detailed brand guidelines and a design system to ensure consistency.

Poster explaining the project process — Jonathan’s poster explains the process he followed to create his app

You can see more of Jonathan’s work here – https://www.behance.net/jonathan-wood

This post is part of a series celebrating the work the year 4 students have created for their honours projects. Thanks to Jonathan for allowing us to feature this work.

Featured Honours Project: Fufilment – A Virtual Reality Mindfulness Experience by Sarah Carswell

1 May 2023 / fionastewart

Sarah’s honours project built on an idea she had originally had during a year 3 module, to create a wellbeing app. During the honours project she took the idea in a new direction, creating a Virtual Reality experience. “Fufilment” is a relaxing space that users can investigate while undertaking mindfulness activities such as icing cakes and swimming. Inspired by Studio Ghibli environments and colour palette, the space has an eclectic feel, which is further enhanced by clever lighting and sound design (and a few pet cats).

Sarah tested her project with users, who praised the look and feel of the project, giving her useful feedback to make navigating the space straightforward, as well as ideas for activities that could be developed in the future.

You can see more of Sarah’s work here –https://sarahcarswellportfolio.com

Poster explaining the process of the project

Sarah’s poster explains the process she followed to create the experience

The interior is designed to feel lived in but relaxing

The project features s surprise underwater scene

The project features a surprise underwater scene

This post is part of a series celebrating the work the year 4 students have created for their honours projects. Thanks to Sarah for allowing us to feature this work.

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