CG Artist: (4) Simple Walking

Practicing a Normal Walk Cycle

During this mornings Character & Animation class, we talked about how a typical walk cycle would look like. Therefore we went of to practice the keyframes for a normal walk and took photos in Dragon to test how it would be animated.

Here is my practice animation for the walk cycle. The main problem I noticed in the drawing the cycle first hand was getting the feet in the right places so it does not make it look like the character is slipping.

Character Design Class: (4) Environment

Character Design Class (4)

Environment

During Wednesdays Character Design Class, we talked about how environments and how they effect the story just as much as the character. So our task began when we were given 2 words to create a villains and hero's ''lair'' from.

<FOREST and SWAMP>

My two words were 'Forest' and 'Swamp'; 

I had to brainstorm ideas about possible storylines and how these spaces could be evolved.

The story I had began to think of was:

My idea was about these 'high bird' characters living near the tops of of ginormous trees in a forest.
They overlooked the barrens that surround the swamp, just visible over the horizon.

The birds were 'purists'. Only cared about beauty and wealth.
They would look down on anyone else apart from there own kind.
They lived the 'high' life, had no care in the world.
The home that live in would be formed from the trees, spiraling together and graceful.

The creatures living within the swamp would be humble creatures.
They would be living in muck and filth, working hard for the birds.
Threatened to do as they were told to spare the lives of their families.

OGR (1): Soundscape (+ Sonic Concept)

Soundscape: Practice Original SFX

Soundscape: Outline Storyboard

Here is my rough storyboard for the Soundscape project.

My story goes as follows:

Keyframe image.

A catapillar is looking un-happy, fed up being on the plant.

He looks over at the bird bath to see other insects having fun.

He hears a sound and looks up to see a spider.

The spider is swinging side to side and having fun.

The catapillar has an idea!

He climbs up the stem of the plant, and shouts out to the Spider.

The Spider sees him and throws down his silk to pull him up.

After reaching the top, they swing together and land into the Birdbath.

They join the others in a giant splash.

Keyframe image.

Soundscape: Thumbnail Ideas

Soundscape: Brainstorms

Here are some pages that I had created while thinking of ideas for the story from my Key Frame image.

My idea started from when I looked at the painting closes, and how things were arranged.

Even though things come across randomly. The spiders seem to be at the top, and the Caterpillar is at the lower third, looking unhappy.The spiders look like they are having fun and adventurous.

CG Artist: (29.01.2014) Life drawing

Shape & Movement

During this mornings life drawing class, we were told to focus on the body of Francis and how he moves.

My favorite here is the second image.

It was the quickest drawing however the lines really show balance, weight and form.

 I experimented with very quick and dynamic lines during the 30 second poses.
I then went on to a continuous line sketch lasting 1 minute per pose.

Script to Screen: Scott Mills

Style: Scott Mills

Scarlett showed me a page from an animation background website that happened to feature Scott Mills and his out-worldly animations of 'things' situated within what appears to be the Mouth.

Color Key for Nicoderm commercial 

(2007) Photoshop

What I really like about this style is the over exaggerated features, 

line and great use of colour to show light and dark.

Character Design Class (3.0): Bob Godfrey

Bob Godfrey Quick Sketches

During last weeks character creation class, we had an extra task to draw a class member quickly in the 'Grotesk' style of Bob Godfrey.

Maj

I was partnered with Maj. So I wrote down her most defining features and got stuck in. His style is very quick and careless, so that's what I had tried to imitate.

Soundscape: Sound Designer Profile

Sound Designer Profile: Mike Morasky by HeidiGrover

I chose Mike Morasky as my Sound Designer to research as he ties in with my Portal 2 Like-For-Like storyboard, and I have also endlessly played the rest of the games he has designed for.

Film Review: Psycho

Psycho (1960) 109min

(Figure 1: Psycho Film Poster)

Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho, is one of the most loved and remembered horror suspense films of all time. The story had evolved from the the 1959 novel with the same name by Robert Blochloosely who had been inspired by the many crimes of the Wisconsin murderer and grave robber Ed Gein. The film begins with what seems to be the Damsel in distress known as Marion Crane, who begins her escape to Fairvale after stealing a former clients cash deposit. Soon after what seemed to be one of the most heart racing car journeys, she later arrives the Bates Motel under the control of a disturbed owner, Norman Bates. The film captures the audience in a never ending fear to what will happen next, relentless to the hair-raising finale within the mix of Normans 'Mother'.

(Figure 2: Shower Murder Scene)

What many people symbolize a horror film with is its sense of eerie, dramatic sound; more specifically, the Score in which Psycho had set the trend. "...the accompanying frightening music never fails to bring chills down your spine. The music literally "screams" at you." (s.n, 2006) It is this particular sound that we all know today as the pinnacle of horror, and can make the most simplest of scenes become the most intense. As this quote from Mark Kermode says; "After half a century of terror, Psycho is still ensuring that no one feels safe in the shower." (Kermode, 2010) It is this "slasher" action that makes Psycho so famous, and is easily seen within modern horror films such as the Saw movie franchise.

(Figure 3: Stuffed Birds in Bate's Office)

Within Bate's office the audience is introduced to his vast collection of 'stuffed' birds; and only birds. This instantly expresses that something isn't quite right; as Roger Ebert says in his review; "... during their long conversation in Norman's 'parlor,' where savage stuffed birds seem poised to swoop down and capture them as prey." (Ebert, 1998) This particular scene lies parallel with the madness of Bates and how he tries to preserve anything that he has grown to love; such as his mother. It is also in correlation to how Bate's mother seems to only ''prey'' on young women that Norman has taken a interest in. This is a demonstration of severer ''mummy'' issue within the back story of his character, and how the son had grown hatred to his farther because of the love for his mother.

(Figure 4: Norman Bates starring/ Over laid with a Skeleton)

Psycho is 'the' suspense that leaves modern horror films within the trail of its legacy, and will continue to leave modern audiences biting their nails over a half of a century later, and will forever echo its fear and ongoing paranoia from within the shower.


Bibliography:

Ebert, R. (1998) Psycho Film Review URL At: http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-psycho-1960

Kermode, M. (2010) Psycho Film Review URL At: http://www.theguardian.com/film/2010/oct/22/psycho-horror-hitchcock

S.N (2006) Psycho Film Review URL At: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0054215/reviews

Illustration List:

Fig. 1. Psycho Poster (1960) From: Psycho Directed By: Alfred Hitchcocks [Poster] United States. Paramount Pictures. URL At: http://www.movieposterdb.com/posters/10_09/1960/54215/l_54215_b38342a9.jpg

Fig. 2. Shower Murder Scene (1960) From: Psycho Directed By: Alfred Hitchcocks [Film Still] United States. Paramount Pictures. URL At: http://www.thegreenhead.com/imgs/psycho-shower-curtain-2.jpg

Fig. 3. Stuffed Birds in Bate's Office (1960) From: Psycho Directed By: Alfred Hitchcocks [Film Still] United States. Paramount Pictures. URL At: http://www.visualsoc.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/Psycho_39_44_Screenshot.png

Fig. 4. Norman Bates starring/ Over laid with a Skeleton (1960) From: Psycho Directed By: Alfred Hitchcocks [Film Still] United States. Paramount Pictures. URL At: http://static2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20131008043507/finalfantasy/answers/images/8/8a/NormanBates.jpg

Script to Screen: Character Style

Character Style

After speaking with Phil, I have decided to reduce the amount of characters I have. 

I will be sticking to the Hero and Pet idea and 'throwing out;' the nerdy side-kick. As my story is not so realistic; so can the characters. I feel that the style of character I am going for is similar to that of Rayman; specifically from Rayman 3.

(Figure 1: Rayman)

Rayman has very over-exaggerated features, that have become his own recognizable trademark. 

It is also something that can relate to my story as he could have been created within a young child's mind. There's not much anatomy, just features that a young person would take recognition to.

Illustration List: 

Figure 1: Rayman URL At: http://agnes0177.deviantart.com/art/Rayman-from-Rayman-Origins-298667982

OGR (1): Reflection & Refined Ideas

The Story

After reading my OGR feedback I have reflected on my current ideas to make my story and its content more refined.

The initial beginning and end of my story needs to be defined more.

As Phil said in my feedback, the story currently has no definition of the girl (Carrie) not liking the dream.

''Act 1 with the girl in bed, her room in darkness except for the fall of light from the open door across her; we hear a parent saying, 'Don't forget, you're going to the dentist tomorrow. Sleep tight'. The door closes, the room is in darkness, we see the little girl looking worried; she sleeps; she dreams...''

This is what I think will work the most in terms of showing the difference from reality and the dream.
Which can also explain the story straight away to anyone.

CG Artist: (3) Sack Animation

Practicing Sack Animation

During this mornings sack animation, I had prepared a sequence of key frames to see whether or not my animation works as a whole.

Here is a practice paper I had prepared last week.

Due to technical issues, I had to take my images from Dragon and imported them into Premier Pro.

Character Design Class: (3) Character & Prop

Character Design Class (3)

Character & Prop

Earlier this week on Wednesday (24th) we were told to focus on Character and the usage of Hero Props. Our first task was to create a weapon/prop for the character that we were given.

I had the cartoon character Danger Mouse, and here are my prop design pages.

My final design was the ''Net-o-Mouse''! 

It would shoot of a net that would be allocated on Danger Mouse's forearm.

Our second task was to use our item that we brought in from home and to re-design it and make a character from it. I had a Harmonica, and I instantly thought of an old man/Blues man in a pub of some kind.He would be chilled out, with a whistle in his words when he speaks, and would wear a very large ''Blues Man'' slanting over his face.

OGR (1): From Script to Screen

CG Artist: (22/01/2014) Life drawing

Light Contrast

This mornings life drawing session was focusing on how light effects the body. We were allowed to use black paper and colour pastels to emphases our drawings.

I found this task very difficult due to lack of practice and experience when using white pastels.

Script to Screen: Step Outline

The Step Outline

Scene 1:

A young girl called 'Carrie' is upset/refusing to go to the Dentist. 

She is clearly tired, so she gets carried upstairs by her Dad and gets tucked into bed and begins to Dream.

Scene 2:

The hero gets a telegram/beeping message about a place in jeopardy. 

Quick shots of the mouth of this young girl being overrun by acidic monsters and creatures on Pogo-Sticks that are having a 'Party' in her mouth. 

He turns around and summons his team to begin action.

Scene 3:

They arrive in her mouth and are shocked at the how many creatures are there. 

They gather/huddle behind a tooth to begin talking tactics and battle plans.

Hero checks over his shoulder, and flings the 'Pet' over and one-handedly jumps over to follow.

Side-kick is nervous, composes himself and lassos a floss string around a tooth and swings into battle. 

Scene 4:

They begin shooting with their toothpaste blasters and other weapons in the arsenal.

Dramatic camera views and epic battle scenes occur.

After eliminating many monsters and creatures, the team re-group.

They hear a loud, booming sound from behind them.

Scene 5: 

Evil Villain appears from behind the Molars. 

He climbs and slime's his way towards the heroes.

Scene 6:

Heroes are looking up with shocked/scarred faces, with open mouths and hard swallows.

Pet barks/beeps/etc to indicate he has an idea.

The hero agrees and the pet flys of ahead to first distract the villain.

The hero looks to his side-kick and asks him to create an almighty weapon.

Scene 7:

Pet is making the villian dizzy. Villain gets mad and hits the pet away.

Hero calls out to the side-kick to hurry up quickly. Side-kick is rushing.

Scene 8:

Villain is about to eat the pet, untill he hears the hero call out.

He turns around to see the hero with a huge water pistol/mouth wash pistol.

Villains face drops - Hero shoots the weapon at the villain that makes him explode/burst.

Pet re-forms himself to join the others.

Scene 9:

A short pose of the team of heroes (Floss Force) poised and ready for their next battle.

Scene 10:

Young girl wakes up and imagines that the Dentist and his assistant are super heroes and is excited about going to the Dentist.

Script to Screen: Research into Character Design

Character Design Research: Style

After browsing the internet and a couple of character design Facebook communities, I discovered this fantastic character design archive that features hundreds of character designers and examples of work. I have documented the small minority of my favourite artists below and why I love their work.

Hand Drawn - Sketchy

Emma Frost: Click here!

I love how Frost has used this light purple pencil when creating this page.

It was something that caught my instantly, and her style is very provocative.

Eric Guzman: Click here!

Guzman's work really captures emotion. 

I love the colours he's drawn in and how he's used the entire page.

Katy Hargrove: Click here!

Hargroves style is semi-realistic, and in a way I feel my style of character design is similar to hers. 

We instantly know what her characters are feeling like and who they are.

Sydney Hanson: Click here!

Hansons style is very 'pretty' and 'cutesy'.

Something that would be great for a children's book of some kind.

Charles Santoso: Click here!

Santoso's composition on the page and pinky-red pencil is what first drew me to his page.

I can tell how that character would walk and even speak!

Sketchbook/ Edited

Dou Hong: Click here!

Hong's work is what I believe to be a great image source and reference. 

I love how he's compressed his drawings onto one long peice of paper. 

I find it gives it that very charming appeal.

Franco Pagnolo: Click here!

One of my favourite character design pages!

Pagnolo's quick, fearless lines is somewhat an inspiration for me, 

and the page looks worked on and refined.

Ben Caldwell: Click here!

Caldwell's pages have great sense of charm and appeal.

I love the arrangement of varied sketches and work produced not just traditionally, but digitally.

These types of styles is what I hope to create my characters similar too.

I find working traditionally and then converting them digitally works best for me.

Check out Characterdesignpage on Facebook!
Check out Ioish on Facebook!

Script to Screen: The Story Title Ideas?

Title?

Here are some title names that were thought of when thinking of ideas:

• The Adventures of the Tooth Crusaders
• Legendary Gob Stoppers
• The Enamelers
• Gum-sters /(Gum-Stars): At the Tooth of Battle!
• Plaque Busters: Attack of the Gums!
• Floss Forces United

These ideas were quite hilarious to come up with, and was quite the class giggle!

Script to Screen: Premise

Story Line Premise

"A young girl is scared to take a trip to the Dentist, who has a dream of three fantastical heroes to save her teeth from ultimate destruction; however an evil force is rising up against them."

OR

"A young girl is scared to take a trip to the Dentist, who has a dream of three fantastical heroes to save her teeth from ultimate destruction; But will she ever make it to the Dentist?"

Script to Screen: Logline

Story Line Logline

The story is about a young girl who is afraid of going to the Dentist. She goes to bed and has a dream about a team of heroes that are sent to save her mouth from total chaos, which is under the control of an almighty villain. These heroes fight their way through grime, cleaning her teeth; however they realize that this almighty villain isn't so 'mighty' after all; this excites the young girl to want to go to the Dentist.

Script to Screen: Character Biography(s)

Center Character

The Daughter: Carrie

> Age: 6 Years Old

> Characteristic: Quiet, playful and creative

> Back Story: Doesn't want to go to the Dentist. 

She goes to bed and has a fantastical dream of heroes and heroins that fight off barbaric creatures to save her mouth/teeth. This changes her mind to want to go to the Dentist the following morning.

The Three Main Characters

The Hero/Heroine: <No Name>

> Age: Looks 18 to 25 (However he/she is 'made-up'!)

> Characteristic: Bold, strong minded and a team leader

> Back Story: Fighting grime from children's mouths since he/she was only a tiny molecule!

The Side-Kick: <No Name>

> Age: Looks 15 to 20 (However he is 'made-up'!)

> Characteristic: Inventive, creative yet incredibly nervous/shy

> Back Story: Has been the 'mind' behind the madness of the Hero - A lending hand!

The Pet/Creature: <No Name> K-9? Canine teeth!

> Age: N/A (However 'it' is 'made-up'!)

> Characteristic: Joyful, playful, clumsy and extremely fast

> Back Story: A 'mans best friend' who never lets his friends down!

The Main Villain

The Villain: <No Name>

> Age: Looks very, very old! (However he is 'made-up'!)

> Characteristic: Devilish, mastermind, criminal nature and slimy!

> Back Story: A piece of food stuck behind the First Premolar and his risen up to bring ultimate carnage!