Guido Argentini

These are examples of some of the photographs in Guido Argentini's Silvereye collection that provided inspiration and references for my female characters in the Kley drawing project.

Character Development

These images show the progression and development of the character basis for the Kley drawing project. My starting point was a drawing I did previously based on a ballerina, attempting to explore shade further, in particularly looking at muscle tone.

Originally using the classic style of shading and filling the whole character with shadow, after looking at Kley's work I experimented with using line to create shadow and definition, using the technique of cross hatching.  Again I looked at the physique and pose of a naked ballerina as it enabled me to explore muscle tone further, looking at how definition creates shadows - particularly evident in the arms and legs of the models. This technique creates less contrast and definition, but I think the use of line adds more detail and a sense of delicacy to the draw, particularly in addition to the ballerina's pose. So I decided to explore this idea further, but I think proportions are slightly incorrect again as the feet appear slightly too small.

In development I looked specifically at photographer Guido Argentini for the basis of my drawings. He is known for his photography of naked women. I chose to look at his collection of photographs Silvereye, in which he paints his models silver and photographs them in a variety of athletic and interesting positions. I chose to look at his images in particularly due to the females athletic and muscular physiques - though appearing still dainty with their pointed toes, flexibility and long hair. The use of silver paint also creates stronger contrast in the photographs, highlighting muscle tone and shadow more definitely.

I think the drawing of the female at the top (clutching her carves and bending toward the floor) uses too much shadow in the cross hatching across the back and needs to be toned down. The bottom image is preferred due to the capturing of the pose and the detail and shadow in her hair. I intend to explore Argentini's photographs further in combination with cross hatching.

Knight Rider Storyboard References

In order to create the Knight Rider storyboard I had to use references to make informed drawings of some of the details within the script. The main things I needed to use references for were the vehicles as I had little knowledge of what they looked like or how to draw them. So I created simplistic line drawings of the vehicles only capturing the main details in order to translate them to the storyboard frames.

The bottom image is a basic plan of the garage in which Micheal, Devon and Amber discuss Kitt's transfer into a courtesy car due to him breaking down. This enabled me to think about and plan the movement across the scene in each of the frames. I also drew basic character plans, making sure they would be easily recognisable and differentiate from one another.

2D Take

Another example of 2D Animation, this piece was based on the idea of a double take. This is often used in animated cartoons with animal character, where their eyes pop out of their head or steam comes out of there ears to illustrate strong emotion at what they've just seen or what has happened around them. Using the cubby character due to the simplicity of the shapes, using no facial expressions or legs conveying the idea of a take through the use of body language and reaction. I think the most effective part is the change and stretch in size, as it's the smoothest part of the animation but the Cubey character pulling his head apart is the most exaggerated part of the animation and I think is the most effective in creating the idea of the 'double take'. I think this area could be smoother and due to its extreme nature possibly be more exaggerated in order to make it more effective.

Light & Dark

After the previous drawing project it occurred to me that I needed to explore light and dark within my drawings further. As oppose to drawing directly from life, to start off I began drawing from photos to enable me to look in more detail at the shading.

I drew from photographs that I'd taken previously with high contrasts of highlights and shadows. The top left image was particularly a challenge as it consisted of facial features - also it's a male, which I rarely draw - and very strong shadows across the face creating irregular shapes. However I am relatively pleased with this as my first drawing looking directly at shading as I think I captured a lot of the detail created through the shadows, particularly around the lip and lower nose area. I also think it's effective in capturing the slightly amazed expression on his face, without the use of detail in the eyes.

The second photograph I used as a reference was slightly more simplistic, looking at light and dark across the female form. The photograph was taken using studio lighting and is lit from the right of the figure in an attempt to create a Bill Brandt esque photograph.

This was easier as I was able to look at the specific shapes the shadows created in relation to the curves of the body - which I found more difficult previously due the amount of detail in the face - and because of the large amount of really dark shadows. I think the proportions are slightly incorrect however, the torso looks slightly too long and the hand slightly too small. I think it's also necessary to look at blending the shadows to create smoother shadows and a less grainy appearance.

Burt Walk & Walk Cycle

Using the Burt rig in Maya I created both a walk cycle and a walk. To attempt to understand how people walk and move, I played around with walking in different styles, exaggerating the movements and shifting my weight in different ways. I also spent time watching people around me walk to compare how different their motion is, but also to understand the main movements within the walk.

Because of the nature of the character, appearing like an alien-esque robot in the form of a large ball on top of two spindly legs and large feet, I was able to play with using more stylised, less realistic walks. The walk cycle sees a slower walk, with more subtle shifts in weight from one leg to another, creating a slightly more realistic walk. Burt walking across the screen uses a quicker pace, with legs kicking outwards further when in the air. In addition there is a less subtle shift in weight, showing the weight shifting to each leg, as well as the bend in the knee.

Observing People

The second drawing project involved watching and observing people around me, doing quick drawings and sketches before they moved in an attempt to capture the pose. The second part of the brief was to draw animal heads to fit in with the pose.

Due to the quick poses, I mainly drew simplistic line drawings looking mainly at the shape of the pose and looking at detail and creases within clothing. This page is an example of mainly seated poses, giving me the opportunity to look in a little more detail.

I added the animal heads after completing the observational drawings, using references, choosing the animal to coincide with the characters of the people I was drawing.

In order to improve I think I need to look at exploring light and dark more, looking at shading as opposed to just creating life drawings. However I think this will apply more when looking at longer poses or when having more time to capture an image.

2D Cubey Jump

This is the first 2D piece created using a character and also using the cel sheets. I used the 'cubby' character, consisting of simply a cube for the body, a circle for his head & two very basic arms. This enables me to create emotion using just body language and no facial expressions. The brief outlined that the cubby character should jump across the frame, illustrating anticipation and then the characters reaction to something off of screen.
After the character jumps across the screen, his reaction is to jump up in the air waving his arms before landing, raising his hands to his face and looking at the ground, conveying a sense of shock and fear.

Snail Vs. Rabbit

This is the first storyboard exercise I was given. The aim of the storyboard was to illustrate two characters, or objects, moving at two different speeds toward one another.

I chose to use the characters of a rabbit & a snail, obviously the snail more slowly. I attempted to illustrate the particularly slow speed using shots which showed the small distance he'd moved in comparison to details of the background, such as the plants & flowers. To illustrated the speed of the rabbit I used a variation of things, such as lines to show the speed, blurring of the background & the cloud of 'dust' around his back legs.

I think this storyboard was successful in fulfilling the brief, but I think it I need to explore using a wider range of shots & camera angles within the frame, as well as developing a more interesting drawing style within the frames.

Life Drawing - Session Two

Second life drawing session.

Though I'd done a few life drawing sessions prior to starting this course, I've never drawn a female before. So in this session I found myself struggling more than normal, I think this was due to the wider range of poses she created, particularly the lying down poses which led me to struggle in particularly with foreshortening - something I've had issues with previously.

This is one of my preferred drawings from the session as I was able to get some tone as it was a longer pose, but I think I need to work on the proportions, as her legs appear too short. Another thing I feel I need to work on during the life drawing sessions is drawing more quickly during the shorter poses - for example one or two minutes poses - as I often end up with very little of the figure.

Toy Story

The first drawing project was named 'Toy Story'.   This involved me drawing my choice of toy - a six legged octopus my flatmate made by hand - in different situations & from different angles.

I drew him in varying places, from the fridge to in a blender & on my head. I also drew him as part of one of the Fresher's events 'Psycho Circus'.

I also experimented with drawing him from different angles & in different styles. I tried simplistic line styles, the use of cross hatching, simplistic use of  colour & also a blind contour, continuous line drawing.

I think in order to improve my drawing, I need to experiment with using a looser style as I tend to use relatively clean & very considered lines, but I think I would benefit from experimenting with quicker, looser drawings.

2D Squash & Stretch Bouncing Balls

Light Ball (Football)

Heavy Ball (Bowling Ball)

These are examples of hand drawn 2D animations. This was my first time using animation paper & light box with the peg bar. The combination of these things made it far easier to establish the movements & size of the balls, as I was able to see each layer after I had drawn it. Prior to using the animation paper etc, I'd experimented with drawing all of the movement on one sheet of paper to look at the squash & stretch of the ball as I didn't want to look distorted. After photographing each image with the stop motion camera I created this, although I think it was relatively success, I think in the future I need to concentrate on the size of the ball - to make sure it remains the same volume - & the speed.

Squishy!

First attempt at experimenting with Maya using a 3D 'squishy' ball. Originally I started playing with a solid ball with no squash & stretch, but later used the 'squishy' ball to enable me to exaggerate the movement. I struggled using Maya at first as it's a program I'm not used to, but once I had time to play around & experiment I started to learn all the shortcuts & where everything was within the windows. So this is the outcome of a few hours of experimenting with the 'squishy' ball, not perfect but it's getting there, will keep updated with improvements.

Morphing Animation

I created this simple morphing animation using a stop motion camera.

As a class, we each drew an object or character. I then had to morph the previous person's drawing into my drawing. I had to morph a moomin into a cartoon jellyfish in twelve drawings.

Using a stop motion camera I recorded the images to create this final version.