James Archer

BA (Hons) Illustration and Animation

Get in touch with James

My name is James Archer and I'm a 3D character animator based in England in the West Midlands, and I have just completed my studies on the BA (Hons) Illustration and Animation at Coventry University. With influences such as Pixar, Lucasfilm, Ubisoft and Bungie, I'm able to animate characters with emotion, expression, and life.

I've always been fascinated with animation. This began with watching animated films and my passion for playing video games and developed into a passion for storytelling and moving image. This has required me to develop skills in modelling, rigging and animating characters. Through practicing animation over the years, I have developed incredible patience which helps in maintaining my focus, whilst working on different projects. My passion for video games and animation drives me to push my animations further to be the best they can be while still learning and expanding my own knowledge of animation techniques and software.

I've always has a positive attitude, and I hope that this, combined with my work, brings a smile to people's faces. I am working towards a career in the games industry as an animator, whether it's animations for gameplay or cutscenes.

"Animation offers a medium of story telling and visual entertainment which can bring pleasure and information to people of all ages everywhere in the world." - Walt Disney
Contact sheet of my Animation: Shipwreck Gamer.
Contact sheet of my Animation: Whole Room.
Contact sheet of my Animation: Robber's Morality.
Contact sheet of my Animation: Bouncing Ball.
Contact sheet of my Animation: Comedy Sketch.
Showcases all of the rigs I used for my FMP as well as referencing the creators of them.
Showcases all of the storyboards I produced as part of each project for my FMP.
Showcases all of the reference footage in contact sheet forms. The reference was used to help capture real life movements in the body, head and so on; this helped inform how I would animate the characters in each project.
Showcases how I developed the environment for the Whole Room, blocking out the set, adding color for testing it and then creating my own textures and placing them in the UVs of the Set.
Showcases me animating the characters in the set for the Whole Room. I blocked out each poses and inbetweens for each character.
Showcases the Bouncing Ball Project, I went though several different satges of the bouncing ball until I got to the Final version. The sketches of different ball animations in the end all came together for one animation. The reference footage I shot helped to create the Final Version.
Showcases how the bank set was produced for the Robber's Morality project. I blocked out the scene, then added further details when I was happy with blocked out set, changed things up further down the line, adding a reception area which would be seen from the vault.
Showcases me animating the characters in the environment. I blocked out each pose and inbetweens until I was happy with the results. I created controls for the walls so I could use different camera angles when needed. I submitted this animation to 11 second club and came 108/121.
Showcases the development of the ARCHER Rig, a creation of my own. I modelled the geometry based on some random sketches I did, added a skeleton and controls and managed to find a way to flatten the character, ready for the Comedy Sketch project.
Showcases how I made the set of the Comedy Sketch animation project as well as how I animated the characters. I created custom template walls which I could use for this and future projects; I then applied colors to them. I created a traditional door which could be animated as well as the individual parts of it like the door handle. I blocked out the characters and also did the inbetweens. I recorded the sounds for it myself and edited it together to create the Final Animation.
Showcases how I created the environment for the Shipwreck Gamer project. I started with sketches of the environment I wanted to produce, keeping things simple but a bit of detail as well. I wanted a messy bedroom like a teenager or young adult would have. I modelled the bed, wardrobe, chair, TV and everything else. The template walls from previous project was used here as well. The gaming controller was modelled to the scale and size of the rigged character's hands.
Showcases how I animated this scene with the rigged characters for the Shipwreck Gamer project. I blocked out the scene first and then added inbetweens where needed. For the facial animation, I added cameras which I've attached to the character's heads so I could lip sync them better. I wanted to push the characters, posing and expressions further this time around.
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James Archer

BA (Hons) Illustration and Animation

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https://jamesarcher.myportfolio.com
https://www.facebook.com/jarcheranimations
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