Visit Essex Animation: Week 6: Research & Preparation

It became apparent that it was necessary for my to fully research each of the attractions I was going to feature in my animation. The research was needed to accurately depict each attraction and the activities available.

The Royal Gunpowder Mills - I found that there were demonstrations of 19th century weaponry. I particular Muskets and flintlock Rifles. This helped me decide that I was going to animate an 1806 Baker Rifle

Colchester Zoo - By researching the animals at Colchester Zoo I discovered that they have both Indian and African elephants. This means that I could model and animate any one I wanted.

The East Anglian Railway Museum - While researching I found that the museum housed many old steam trains. This helped me decide the train I was gong to model.

The North Weald Air Museum - I had always wanted to model a Spitfire for this attractions so I researched the museum to see if they had a Spitfire. Luckily they did so I was able to model and animate one.

Adventure Island - For this attraction I knew I wanted to animate a thrill ride, more specifically a roller coaster. By researching Adventure Island I found the colour scheme of Rage, the roller coaster, was pink and yellow. It also indicated how the track was constructed in a triangular shape.

Colchester Castle - The research I did on the castle helped me find the design and colours of the castle. The research also helped me decide what angle of the castle I would model for. I decided to model the front and right side of the castle because I thought the heavily ruined wall was very interesting.

Signs - I researched all the logos of the different attractions to make the signs seem as realistic as possible.

Billboards - I used the Visit Essex website to get information on the number of country houses in Essex and the number of shops in Lakeside shopping centre.

Visit Essex Logo - I also used the Visit Essex website to get the Visit Essex logo.

Welcome Sign - I finally research a the Essex crest and used it to create a ‘Welcome to Essex’ sign.

Because I had planned to undertake such a large animation I had to make sure that all my preparation was completed before I started the modelling and animation process.
This mainly entailed me searching for appropriate high quality reference images to use for modelling.

Baker Rifle Reference Image