Adaptation (B): Interim Crit

Interim Crit

Adaptation (B): Finalized Thief Outfit

Finalized Thief Outfit

During today I have finished the thief's outfit along with whats going on underneath his cloak. (Hidden daggers/throwing knives and pouches.) I have also moved his hair bun down to be more like a pony-tail in agreement with alan that he still looks Asian.

TO DO LIST:

Hands

Boots

Colour

@Alan Adaptation (B): Master Thief Concealment Outfit

Master Thief 

Concealment Outfit

After attempts to make him more unique, the traits I chose were daggers/throwing knives and general charm. But I also added in intricate buttons/clasps as you mentioned, but to show I sign of 'class' or some sort of 'wealth'. He's not a poor thief let's say! I've outline the front half of his weapons and were they would be hidden. I think I found him in (B). Any suggestions?

@Alan Adaptation (B): Master Thief Progression

Master Thief Progression

I think (for the time being) the 'Master Thief' is nearing complete. If I chose this character as my character to model I would go back and maybe change his face slightly with extra details, along with finessing his initial outfit. Any other suggestions? See my earlier post for initial thoughts.

@Alan Adaptation (B): The Master Thief - Yojimbo Influence

The Master Thief

Yojimbo Influence

After many, many ideas and thoughts about what direction I should take my 'Master Thief' character towards, I remembered a film that I had heard about in college called Yojimbo that featured a lone samurai who was hired as a bodyguard. I have not seen this film, but considering my character is a weapons master and talented manipulator, I believed this was a good lead to follow.

Initial Ideas: Hood/Mask

As he is a thief a mask fits well. It also plays with the 'master of manipulation' - hypnosis. 'Day of the Dead' hype. Also samurai used to wear facial masks too. As he is also the 'love interest' of Briar-Rose, the whole 'dead' theme (yin-yang) may apply. Any suggestions?

Adaptation (B): 'The Monster' All Initial Sketches

The Monster (The Owl)

All Initial Sketches

As the 'Monster' would be the main antagonist in my film, I definitely felt like he needed to be created. After drawing human proportions this felt a lot more free and allowed me to be much more expressive and experimental, and it is extremely therapeutic!

@Alan Adaptation (B): Developed Bear Suit

Developed Bear Suit

After your feedback I went back and tried some of your suggestions and I believe they have been successful. Specially number (1) with the overlap of clothing. Any other suggestions or do you think I have found 'her' now?

@Alan Adaptation (B): Rose-Red Bear Suit Development

Rose-Red

Bear Suit Development

I have gone forward to develop Rose-Red's Bear Suit and I have come up with some designs for my preferred option below. Any idea which one works the most? I personally prefer numbers (1) & (3). I plan to develop the one chosen a bit further.

Adaptation (B): Rose-Red Hood Design Development

Rose-Red

Hood Design Development

I have taken on the strongest hood design from my previous post and decided to look at the finer details and develop 16 potential designs that I could take forward. I prefer numbers (1), (3), (6), (11), (12) & (16). Any other opinions?

@Alan Adaptation (B): Rose-Red Head Scarf/Hood Development

Rose-Red

Head Scarf/Hood Development

Here are my initial sketches for Rose-Red's head scarf/hood development. I still will take this further, but I'd like to get an idea of which one works most out of the top three. I personally prefer the look and approach to number (3). Any suggestions?

Film Review: United Kingdom - When the Wind Blows (1986)

When the Wind Blows is a British stop-motion-animation drama based on Jimmy Murakami's novel of the same name. It is a story of an elderly couple facing the upcoming's of a nuclear war and how they relate it to World War 2. The film features a high amount of dialogue, with a combination of different artistic styles throughout. The film was Briggs' second collaboration with TVC after the film The Snowman in 1982.

James and Hilda Bloggs, are two retired old aged pensioners who moved away to Sussex to live in the countryside. The film follows their daily routine as they deal with the deteriorating international situation and how they believe in the useless government leaflets to survive. The film achieves this through heartwarming animation, with a gentle approach to a very serious subject that allows the audience to not only feel compassion towards the couple, but also the hatred and despair of nuclear war.

The style and overall animation itself is very 80's with a naive but cute drawing style that could appeal to all ages. I wouldn't watch this film again due to it's upsetting storyline, yet it is definitely worth a watch for its own unique blend of stop-motion and animation.

@Alan Adaptation (B): Rose-Red Advice

Rose-Red

I still am not sure about Rose-Red. I have created her hair and face, but I have also created thumbnails about her in general. She is the 'partner' of the 'Bear' and I would assume she would be similar to him in some form or another. A 'tragic love story but with a happy ending'. Or the alternative would be that she embraces that he is a bear and they are both just act like brother and sister and have their own personalities.

Adaptation (B): Rose-Red Face & Hair Development

Rose-Red Face & Hair Development

After creating and adjusting the face under influence from Audrey Hepburn, I went ahead to try and figure out her hairstyle. I also added a minor adjustment to the face length to make her younger.

@Alan Adaptation (B): Combining Old & New Sketches - Results

Combining Old & New Sketches

Results

After feedback from Alan to look back at my older designs, I combined two of the better sketches with my updated designs to see whether I could bring back some of 'skull-like' features. Here are my results. I personally prefer (B).

Adaptation (B): Briar-Rose Outfit New sketches

Briar-Rose Outfit

New sketches

Here are some more ideas for Briar-Rose's outfit. I've tried to incorporate a skull into her clothing discreetly, it may be more prominent when I finalize a design and include colour.

Adaptation (B): Briar-Rose Outfit Initial Sketches

Briar-Rose Outfit

Initial Sketches

These designs are based on the principle that 'Briar-Rose' was asleep among all the corpses of her attempted rescuers. So the idea was she would be a type of necromancer. I am not quite sure if this is the path to go down yet, however I think (1) & (2) work the most.

Adaptation (B): Briar-Rose Petal Hair Development

Briar-Rose Hair Development

As Briar-Rose is a character who is very symbolic to that particular plant, I thought about if her hair could resemble rose petals as well. I will develop this further in other perspectives to have a better understanding of her hairstyle, but at the moment I like where this is heading.

Film Review: France - The Triplets of Belleville (2003)

Written and directed by Sylvian Chomet, The Triplets of Belleville is a animated comedy film based upon the Tour de France. It has minimal dialogue, with the majority of the film being told through song, pantomime and the animation. The film has been highly praised for its unique style of animation and storytelling. It has been nominated for Best Animated Feature, Best Original Song and was screened at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival.

The film follows the story of an elderly woman called Madame Souza, who begins her journey to rescue her grandson, Champion, after her was kidnapped during the Tour de France by the French mafia for gambling purposes, along with her obese dog called Bruno. The Triplets of Belleville is highly influenced by caricatures and has a great sense of character in every aspect of the film, from the characters themselves to buildings, cities and the animation itself.

I would recommend this film to anyone who is interested in slapstick comedy with a suitable art-style. The film has a very appealing tone to it, and overall, the film generally reminds me of Madame Souza herself. The pale colours and the over exaggerated car chases that make you just want to speed things along all adds to its early 1900's appeal.

Film Review: Iran - Persepolis (2007)

Persepolis is a French-Iranian animated film directed and animated by Marjane Satrapi based on her own autobiographical novel of the same name. The film was nominated for Academy Award for Best Animated Feature and was a co-winner for 2007 Cannes Film Festival. The film has a strong line art style which also features basic colours in contrast to grays and blacks.

Persepolis is a film that follows the early life of a young girl as she becomes of age just after the Iranian Revolution. We watch how she engages with her family members and friends as she slowly becomes observant of the society around her. Despite the film being based upon a rough era of Iran, the film is very diluted in terms of realistic interpretation of that period, in relation to revolution documentaries.

Overall, the film is pleasant to watch yet the story lacks any excitement or drive. It fits its genre and purpose well enough, however I would not recommend this film to anyone who seeks to learn about this particular part of history, or looking for an artistic style.

Film Review: Israel - Waltz with Bashir (2008)

Waltz with Bashir is an Israeli animated war documentary of the Lebanon War in 1982. The film was written and directed by Ari Folman and was officially released in 2008. Waltz with Bashir was the first Israeli feature film to have been produced in over 40 years, however the film is currently banned in Lebanon. It has won many awards including a BAFTA and Golden Globe for 'best foreign language film'.

The film features a highly stylized 3D effect that reflects on the memories of Ari Folman's experience of the Lebanon War. His amnesia has left him confused about these memories and seeks his friends to find out the truth and get his memory back. It has a strange yet mesmerizing approach to not only the artistic style but also from Folman's perception of each scene with high imagination.

Waltz with Bashir is a film for anyone who is seeking to find out more about the Lebanon War from a soldiers point of view, but to anyone else who seeks to find an art style for their own particular artwork. Unfortunately the film only features a handful of English sentences that may spoil the immersion for some audiences.

Adaptation (B): Briar-Rose Face Tweaking

Briar-Rose Face Tweaking

After my feedback from Alan, I realized that I needed to look more at Natalie's facial features and not create something generic. As her hair is something I will re-design eventually I have kept it the same for now.

Adaptation (B): Briar-Rose Hair & Facial Detail Sketches

Briar-Rose Head Designs

Feedback Welcome!

After creating her face, I have designed some rough hairstyles and facial details.

I prefer numbers (2) and (5) for the hair and (3), (5) and (7) for the facial details.

Adaptation (B): Briar-Rose Face Development

Briar-Rose Face Development

After looking at the celebrities I think would work best with my Briar-Rose, Natalie Dormer stood out the most. Her pointed jaw, the style of her eyebrows, size of her mouth and spacing of her eyes seems to give her this very 'strong woman' effect. So I went ahead and created a face/head from these influences.

Adaptation (B): Actors & Actresses

Actors & Actresses

After my tutorial with Alan, I looked at actresses that have traits that I could use for influences when designing my character 'Briar-Rose'. The actresses I initially thought of were Natalie Dormer, Mila Kunis, Lauren Cohan and Michelle Rodriguez. (Master Thief: Joe Dempsie, Ashton Kutcher, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Liam Hemsworth - Silver Hands: Anne Hathaway, Shailene Woodley, Emma Stone and Amanda Seyfried).

 Briar-Rose

Master Thief

Girl With Silver Hands

Adaptation (B): 'The Bear' - Adding Details

Adding Facial Details

Feedback Welcome!

After deciding which designs worked best for my 'Bear' character, I have taken him another step forward and applied details to his face, altering them slightly each time. I prefer numbers 2, 4 & 6.