Showreel

I also created a showreel for the BFX animation competition this year, which I'm applying to. Fingers crossed.

May also use it in the showcase somehow.

(best viewed in 1080p.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vn5NBXYHjZQ

A Lass! (with sass)

Working on pose. I'm happy with how my digital painting is coming on. However, my poses thus far for my characters have been rather lifeless. Here's hoping I can get some awesome poses done for the showcase.

The seldom discussed sketchbook.

I sketch in my sketchbook every day, but i very rarely put anything on this blog. i guess i thought of it more as a final hand in than something to keep explaining on here. anyway, here's some sketches.

and i quite liked this one ^ so i did a paint over of the sketch. 

I thought my sketchbook this year would revolve around my adaptation designs. however, throughout, it's just hundreds of personal development designs as warm ups and tests (proportions etc) before i go into digital, which is where i've created my adaptation designs (moodboard > silhouettes/thumbnails > refine > render > lighting etc.)

I quite like using my sketchbook freely just to "draw what i feel". I've found it often leads down much more interesting paths. 

Lina Final + Costume Applied.

Step-by-step

New Tab for High-Res

Quick Rock Studies from Imagination.

What it says on the tin. Will be working on the foliage/rocks/terrain of the story soon, so just warming up with some quick paints, looking for interesting formations.

Finished Lina Detail and Costume.

I've mentioned the design decisions behind Lina before so I won't say too much here.

I have also started experimenting with the design for Lina's costume. As I mentioned before both Lina and Fundevogel are very familiar with nature, and thus prompted me to create Lina from the silhouette of a tree. I wanted to reinforce this idea with her outfit. The result to the left was inspired by a pine tree. I think this really supports her character and promotes a very outdoors-y aesthetic. The visible stitching also gives it a rather rustic/home-made feel, which again adds to this idea. The design on the right was somewhat inspired by pocahontas. This design I feel lacks any flair: Nothing stands out. When adapting a fairytale for an animation, there usually aren't many (main) characters. Therefore, you want the characters that are key to the story to stand out, be memorable and, ultimately, interesting.

I'm going to refine the Fundavogel design again, and then I'll be able to create a full line-up of my final designs, which should provide a nice example of the contrast in design in response to their different personalities and backgrounds.

I've made a list of assets which should be complete within the next 2-3 weeks. The list is huge, but if I want my book to be worth looking at, then these must be explored.

Entire List of Art assets needed for Fundevogel. 

(Key - First Draft (✓) Completed (✓ ✓) )

Characters

Fundevogel 

Silhouettes ✓✓

Sketchbook Roughs ✓✓

Costume Designs ✓

Final Design Bust ✓✓

Poses

Lina

Silhouettes ✓✓

Sketchbook Roughs ✓✓

Costume Designs ✓✓

Final Design Bust ✓✓

Poses

The Forester

Silhouettes ✓✓

Sketchbook Roughs ✓✓

Costume Designs✓✓

Final Design Bust ✓✓

Poses

The Cook

Silhouettes ✓✓

Sketchbook Roughs ✓✓

Costume Designs (N/A)

Final Design Bust ✓✓

Poses

All Character

Full Lineup derived from Bust Renders✓✓

Environments

Forester’s Hut✓✓

Overview

Main Room

Kitchen

Grounds

The Woods

The Escape ✓ ✓

Fundevogel’s Grotto ✓ ✓

Scenarios

The Eagle ✓✓
Forester Hunting ✓✓

Foliage

Trees ✓✓

Rocks/Moss✓✓

Flowers (Scale)

Animals (Maybe)

Glowing Insects

YAY.

The Escape.

For today's piece of practice-based research I wanted to create a literal adaptation of one of the scenes mentioned in the fairytale.

In the story, Lina has just informed Fundevogel that the Cook plans to boil him in the morning. Whereafter, the two quickly escape from the house to the forest, which leads on to the transformation chase - which just happens to be the core element of the Fundevogel tale.

Still a W.I.P

To explain the theory and composition behind this, I shall use some of the sections of my critical framework.

Mood.

Obviously the escape is on the hush-hush, so the desired mood was one that emphasised the cold of the night and the still in the woods.

Scale.

The scene I pictured in my head when I began thinking about how this could be done, was one from Disney's "Beauty & The Beast". Right after The Beast has let Belle go from the castle to save her father. The viewer see's her gallop over the screen and then the camera pans up from the foot of the castle. It gives this nice perspective from the ground plane, as opposed to from the castle. I felt this angle, rather than an angle from the hut would emphasise the distance better.

Composition.

By filling up half the page with fog or darkness, this lack of detail to the rest of the painting allows a double focus point. First, on the Forester's hut in the background, and then on the two main characters in the mid ground. I also used a very minimal palette of colours to help with this. Again, the warm orange/brown colours in the Forester's hut show the warmth and snugness they've left behind. This contrasts with the cool blues, and greens in the mid/foreground, which represent the cold night.

This scene also gave me the chance to put my Forester hut designs from a few months back:

...into practice.

Symbolism

I haven't really attempted to make symbolism a part of this painting, however, while I was creating it, the light coming from the window almost reminded me of The Iron Giant's eyes. This light being the only focal point in the top half of the painting creates this creepy, watched over feel, like the two are being watched by the hut as they escape. I think this actually adds quite a sinister feel to the painting as a whole, and actually adds to the whole feeling of trepidation and worry of the two characters.