My approach here was to test and experiment with the medium, in order to form an initial basic understanding of its capabilities and
Learning Quill was initially very challenging, in comparison to the other VR software's I had taught myself it was extremely complex. For a long time I felt overwhelmed with the software, since the animation/timeline element was very hard to grasp, even though it had some similarities to Cinema 4D/ Unity timelines. This was extremely frustrating because I had seen and researched the capability and potential of the software, but was still bound by my current technical understanding. One method of thinking which helped me comprehend the process much better was comparing it to stop motion animation - It's essentially stop motion with an infinite canvas and no physical limitations.
There are 3 main types of animation in Quill:
Transform Keyframe Animation:
This is more similar to how you would animate in most software's, using transform keyframes to animate the scale, rotation or position of drawn objects. This results in a 'jitter-free' animation, but is arguable less expressive and holds less similarity to traditional or stop motion animation. Animations produces with this method end up feeling quite lifeless, unless used in the right context.
Frame by Frame Animation:
This is by far the most time consuming process of the three, since each frame must be hand drawn. This holds the most similarity to stop motion or traditional animation, equally allowing for the most creative freedom
Puppeteering:
This is a unique method of animation that can only be produced in this medium, allowing real time animation in which you can move/distort objects with your hands. This effect would be extremely hard to reproduce in alternative software's.
Lighting in Quill was completely different to the other software's I had used, since there are no light sources provided, all lighting effects must be painted on. For this reason my knowledge of colour theory came in very useful, since shadows, bounce light and core light all had to be formed out of colour theory. This was challenging to apply but allows for a lot more creative freedom than software's like Tilt Brush, Gravity Sketch, or even Cinema 4D. While this made the process of creating in Quill much longer, I begun to feel my unique style translating into a 3D medium much more than previous software's. Quill was clearly designed for professionals, and therefore this level of control can seem daunting but allows for a lot more possibility and visual style.
Overall the process of learning Quill was extremely challenging, but greatly excited me since I could confirm the creative expression and potential of the medium through first hand experience. Learning this software also enhanced my appreciation for the leading creatives in the software (such as Studio Syro)