Tutorial Notes & Initial Research...

 After a successful tutorial today I'm on track and ready to get started. Here are my notes below (that I'll update it as I remember more):

• Continue with black and white colour palette. Environment is a 2D world of black and white, the character will appear grey from a distance but as you get closer it will in act be black and white newsprint style.
• Anxiety is no longer a negative character and has been replaced as the black element to the environment that is always trying to engulf the character and fill the screen, taking out all the white.
• The narrative will begin with the character being overwhelmed by the black element as it tries to remove the white from the world.  The character will then begin to fight back against the black until there is much more white on the screen and the black has been folded up into a manageable proportion of the screen.
• The look will be very graphical, inspired by Saul Bass and similar works. The character will stay hulking and simple in shape but there'll be a little more detail in the clothing to show it's wearing a trench/rain coat.

Below are a few influence maps for various aspects of the project. First is for character design, looking at silhouettes and similar jackets:

Second are some examples of Saul Bass' graphic design and a couple are inspired by him but produced by other artists:

Original colour map.

Here are a few pieces of music I've taken a liking to. 

Depending on how long the animation becomes, the first minute of the first piece would fit quite nicely but I'll be listening to all of them as I work tomorrow to see what would fit where during the piece.

It's exciting, there's a lot to realise as I do more design work but I really think this could work well. Onwards and upwards! :D

A New Beginning...

After a bit of recovery time I've had one idea that's stuck with me so far. I have considered Phil's recommendation of making something personal, maybe using my anxiety as a place to start. One idea that really appealed to me is creating an advert for the Samaritans organisation based on something people can relate to. Below is a storyboard of my first idea:

The general idea here is that when you're feeling down, even when there's something that could make you feel good, there's always a part of your mind that wants to keep you away from it. Here, although the character feels helpless, it's reached out for the help it needs which is followed by the Samaritans slogan, logo and contact details. I like the use of black and white, although I may integrate a little colour if it fits into the final narrative. I also like the use of simplistic shapes, especially the hulking figure as it makes for a nice visual representation of how you'd feel.

Below are the videos I've had as a big influence for this project so far:

Something that's key to the first two videos is having a piece of music to support the visuals. This will be my next step because as soon as I have that I'll be able to see what should happen where.

SCD: Inari Update...

She's looking good at the moment. I think it's almost time for texturing! :D

Playing With Art Deco...

I'd like to try my hand at Art Deco and Art Nouveau styles and I thought a good way to start was to just jump in and play with shapes and gradients:

I quite like what came out! I spent about 30-40 minutes on it and it's quite pleasing to look at even though it's really basic and could use a lot more work.

I used the Edificio El Moro from Mexico City as my basis:

And I used the colours from these doors below:


Pretty pleasing so far and I'm looking forward to trying more :)

SCD: More Inari Progress...

Just a few new additions really. As I want to make her look a little more unique I decided to add a nagajuban, inspired by the one worn by Saito in Inception. It makes her chest less plain and works well with the new attempt at a wrap-around top. Still been tweaking her face as well but I think she's coming along nicely now, and with a few more refinements on the rest of her clothing I can start thinking about texturing :D

Inari Progress and Some Minor Project Thoughts...

There's been lots of tweaking on Inari recently, particularly on her face and a little on clothing creases:

Her face is definitely coming along nicely now with a few things here and there that still need to be tweaked. The clothing still needs work though and a few accessories will be added to make her more unique and ninja-like ( I do still love that she has throwing darts in her hair though :D).

Now, onto the Minor Project ideas I've had so far!

During the summer I've picked up the rather therapeutic hobby of knitting and crochet. Probably sounds a little odd and unexciting but some of the creatures I've been making are adorable, even if I do say so myself.  It was after I'd made my first long-legged monster-man that Jon mentioned something like that could make for a very simple but charming animation. I haven't really given too much thought to design or creature-type yet but I do know that something like that could really be the small, but perfectly formed, animation I need to really throw myself into the third year.

The narrative ideas we've discussed have been silly, but cute and fun too, such as:

• A mix of live action and 3D, where knitting hands will pop the creature into frame and then add or take away knitted elements comically.
• The creature could be snagged on something at the beginning of the animation and as it tries to reach its goal, steadily unravels itself through the narrative, culminating in a funny or sad ending.
• There could be two characters in the narrative. One discovers that the other is caught and at first thoughts thinks it's dead and mourns its friend. However, the caught creature wakes and laughs at the others mistake. The first creature, now frustrated at being laughed at, grabs the loose thread and completely unravels the caught creature. Laughing as it walks away, leaving angry blinking eyes in a pile of wool.

These ideas aren't refined yet of course, but I want to keep the narrative simple so I can get the character, rig and animation to the standard I want. This way I can start the Final Major Project confidently and with something I can be proud of! :)

SCD: Inari Progress...

I've based her face on an actress called Hannah Simone as she has a similar face shape and features that I was after for Inari, which turned out to be a big help! She's still a ways away though, but I thinks good progress has been made!