Graduation Portfolio

05/05/25 - 21/12/25

Introduction

This page acts as a contents page which links to all work produced as part of the Graduation Portfolio module. This includes the written assignment, practical animation outcomes, employability materials and the development blog posts. Context is provided in each section of this page, however, more information will be found inside the links. 

Assessment Submissions

Reflective Blog – Critical Journal of Creative Practice.

This journal will critically evaluate and reflect on the creative and technical progress across this project. It will explore key elements involved in producing the animation outcomes, beginning with the project rationale to justify the chosen direction and position skill development within the contemporary games, animation and VFX  industries. It will then examine the creative and technical progress achieved, drawing attention to significant challenges and critical reflections. Lastly, it will study the learning processes and behaviours employed to secure skill development and ensure the end results reach a high level of professional quality. Collectively, these sections offer critical insight into the project’s evolution and the creative and technical growth achieved because of these efforts.

Blog Link: Bringing Terrax to Life: A Journey Through Contemporary Creative and Technical Animation Practice

Graduate Portfolio - Practical Animation Outcomes

Three practical outcomes were produced as part of this module. Firstly a 3D Character Rig including an original 3D character model, showcasing 3D art and technical animation skills. Secondly a narrative driven character performance cutscene using traditional hand keyed animation techniques including lip sync. Lastly, gameplay animations and playable character controller system integrated into Unreal Engine 5. All 3 animations are linked through the development of an original character, cutscene animation that would play as the introduction to a game and lastly the first gameplay level picking up where the cutscene ends.

These outcomes can be accessed here:

1. Terrax Technical Animation Character Rig Breakdown: https://vimeo.com/1134625825
   
   
2. Terrax Crash Landing Cutscene: https://vimeo.com/1133608609
   
   
3. Terrax Gameplay Animations and Character Controller: https://vimeo.com/1139831160

In the 'Development Blog Posts' section of this page you will find blog posts that provide and in depth breakdown to the development of these outcomes. 

Portfolio and Other Employability Materials

Alongside these outcomes a portfolio has been created to collate all of my best work completed as part of this module and the full course. My website has been created and updated to reflect my personal brand and host all my employability materials. Lastly my C.V. has been updated and hosted on my website to reflect my current experience and skills.

1. Character Performance Portfolio: https://vimeo.com/1060913638
   
   
2. Website: Matt Lawson-Hall | Animator
1. The portfolio page includes my wider portfolio including a full creature animation reel, technical animation showreel, 2D animation and more.
   
   
3. C.V.: https://www.mattlawsonhall.com/_files/ugd/13f4d2_a50d7298a5544f66a537a8866f90cc85.pdf

Development Blog Posts

The blog posts below provide a detailed breakdown of the full development of work produced across the duration of this module. These blog posts reach an even greater degree of depth, including a thorough visual breakdown of progress over time, compared to the Reflective Blog – Critical Journal of Creative Practice.

1. Career Plan Report
2. Preproduction Exploration to Prepare for Career Development in the Graduate Portfolio Module
3. Concept Art and Character Design
4. Character 3D Modelling - Head
5. Character 3D Modelling - Body
6. Character Modelling - Retopology
7. UV Unwrapping, Texturing and Weapon Development
8. Technical Animation - Rigging
9. Crash Landing Cutscene
10. Character Animation - Gameplay Animation

Conclusion

This has been an absolutely epic journey across the two years on this programme. I have learnt so much and developed my animation skills significantly. The self directed graduation module has definitely been the toughest but it has enable me to explore wider animation skills such as technical animation and gameplay animations in Unreal Engine 5. The development of the 'Terrax Crash Landing Cutscene' is a fine example of my character performance skills, which have significantly improved as a result of the work produced across the full course. This animation is made even better because the character is fully original. It was a bold choice to create my own character rig since if the 3d character model or rig were sub-par it could have limited my animation quality. Thankfully, my research, learning and development processes significantly developed these wider animation skills which really enhanced the quality of my overall animation. Exploring the creation of gameplay animations and a character controller in Unreal Engine 5 further widen my experience for gameplay animation pipelines. Therefore, the work I have produced as a part of this module and course showcases a broad variety of animation skills that position me as a skilled animator within the games, animation and VFX industry.