Sketchbook update

Just another sketchbook update. 

Have been trying to concentrate on both observational sketches as well as artist studies / animation drawings to give myself a balance, as I can sometimes find myself being bias in the subject matter of which I draw. I have also been trying to focus on 'quick body pose' drawings, using a particular technique which I have learnt (Mostly revolving around placing in the spine, hips and shoulders and finishing in the drawing in under 45 seconds) however I will upload these at a later date.

Pre-Production: Writing on the Wall Sets

So as I mentioned in my last post, we are also concentrating on the physical side of the production in terms of characters and sets. We believe it is essential to the success of the production to have the sets looking perfect as well as the characters, so we have started creating some mock up sets of our stop motion. 

Here are some shots of the work in progress of the Caroline's room in which she works. 

We are essentially modelling this set on the concept of Caroline I did a few weeks ago. Here is that concept art.

Heres a very early render of the set. Ive also played around with some lighting effects and such, but there is a lot missing here at the moment. Lots more to come.

So far in terms of the creating process, are using very basic materials. Loads of coffee stirrers, sticks and cardboard, as well as wire and filmo air drying clay. We found that we are able to use a lot of found object, and creativity is key. We have also playing around with applying varnishes and wood stains to create a more authentic look to the wood. As for this final render, Ive attempted to add some 'dust particles' by using a very low opacity brush.

Writing on The Wall: Pre Production Bible

So work has now began on what is being called a 'Pre-production bible'. This is essentially a brochure or information document, displaying concepts, character work, ideas, brief synopsis, episode ideas, turnarounds, models ect ect. It aims to give anyone looking at it, i.e a potential investor perhaps, a complete idea of what this animation is about, exactly how it will work and give a general feel for what the final outcome will look like.

For 'The Writing on the wall' we really only have 3 characters, 1 of which is essentially the same person, with two personas. At this stage we have the a good foundation for each of the characters, as we know what time period we are setting in (18th century) so we can use very obvious character types and dress. The hardest part so far is creating a female character who can be very feminine (Caroline) but also masculine when we need her to be her male alter ego.

As well as character design, we are planning to make this project a stop motion, which requires us to plan carefully how this will physically look, as well as on paper. Therefore we are now planning to create some mock up models of characters and sets, so there is a good solid feel of how it will look at the final stage.

Below are some basic and more rendered Astrid character designs I've been working on.

Drawing Update

Pre-Production; Writing on the Wall

So now that we have been put into groups and decided on a project, I thought it was time for an introduction. Myself and Harry have worked together before, so making a start is quite easy as we know how each other likes to work. We originally wrote the script / plot with a 3rd person, but unfortunately had to be in two's for this project. 

The title of our production is "Writing on the Wall" and we had to come up with the plot using various starting point cards we were given by our lectures. Our cards were: "Catherine Hearshaw" "Rom Com" "Writing on the Wall" "Heath Robinson". And with this, we came up with a rough plot of A woman in the 1800's who was a successful astronomer  recluse using a male alias "Carl" Of which the world does not know, who has a very big fan named Astrid. Young Astrid is besotted with 'Carls' work and goes to find him (Astrid not knowing Carl is a female, Caroline). The comedy will then come from Astrids infatuation with Carl, falling in love and Caroline trying to play both herself and the alias without getting caught. 

We decided this would be a feature length film, but with the time scale and buget (of £0) decided A 2 minute scene would suffice. Within this scene we are going to show the awkward meeting of Astrid and Caroline (Carl) who is caught off guard at her homestead. 

For this first pitch coming up, we have to provide some concept art, so far I have drawn just one, but will upload my others and Harrys at a later date. 

(Caroline working at her telescope)

Funny in 15

So we have just handed in our final render of the funny in 15, and it is all done and dusted. Overall Im pretty happy with the result, although I would have liked to have time to smooth off the animation, as I feel it was a bit rough (Im allowed to say that as I was the only animator!) 

Here is the final result

I loved the fact that we went for the whole 101 Dalmatians style, and it was very fun to try and replicate. Obviously its quite different as a final result, as it was animated in flash, not with pencil on paper. I had never attempted to animate a four-legged-beast before, and it proved quite challenging especially as I had to make the dog feel 'posh'. The woman also proved a bit of a challenge but proved to be okay.