The Long Way Down - Animatic

As well producing in my third year, I've also been taking on roles within the projects as well as others.

Carl - the director of The Long Way Down - created the first draft of the animatic & asked me if I would add some sounds effects...  I'd found many a sound clip previously to use for the animatic & now it was time to put them to use! Which would also help when pitching for sound designers! (Something we require & are rather interested in for all you sound designers who may be reading this!)

So my first attempt at sound on the Long Way Down animatic - one thing I definitely need to do is think out of the box when trying to find the sound effects! Things that create the sounds required may not initially be the things you'd think!

Bottle - Layouts

Examples of background layouts for Bottle - each element is on a separate layer so it is able to be moved around in the scene. Especially if it is an element to be interacted with.

Some of the shots are not regular 1080/920 format due to the changing screen size in bottle & also to be able to move the frame around the layout if required.

The Director will later make animation notes on this, sketching key positions & details within the frame to aid animators in understanding what is required.

The Reel - Character Colour.

As previously mentioned there were some concerns that the skin tones of the characters would get lost in the background due to the neutral/brown tones of the rocks & stones. So I was asked to experiment with bold colours in keeping with the character details & designs of the masks. So these are examples of the colours on the characters, I personally feel like the colours are too bold & will contrast the backgrounds too much & will appear out of place - so it's been decided that the skin colour will be revisited once the scenes have been completed with colour & texture, as then the characters comped into the scenes can be assessed more easily & therefore changed to fit the scene more effectively.

The Reel - Jewellery Textures.

Jewellery experiments & texturing for the characters of the Reel - created from the original designs I created with some amendments to make them more texture friendly & so as not to cause too much distortion.

I used the same wood textures used for the masks & the same brush for consistency in through the model. Hopefully these details will also mean that the characters will be less lost when moving through the backgrounds.

Producing!

I'm predominantly producing this year, so here are some examples of production schedules for the project 'Bottle' including Gantt charts & task breakdowns etc. 

I'm also producing on Illusion of Chaos - which is a massive challenge for me as it's a 3D project & therefore I have less understanding of the process so it's a learning curve for myself as well as being very interesting - & co-producing on The Long Way Down, another 2D short film.

The Reel - Concept Art

For the third year projects I'm predominantly working as a producer & co-producer on projects, as well as currently working as a writer on a selection of projects.

But I've also begun to explore concept art for different projects, mainly 3D in these first few weeks.

The designs below are concept pieces for The Reel's jungle scene, based predominantly of references from Cambodian jungles & ruins, which may be used as reference for some for the assets in the jungle scene.

Desire Me, Desire Me Not.

I was originally going to pitch the short animated film Desire Me, Desire Me Not an adaptation of a Brighton student's (Emma Harrison) short live action film. But after deciding I'd rather not focus on creating a short film & instead concentrate on producing & the possible production bible, I decided not to pitch the short film.

But it was the story of the girl who is rescued by her prince when she falls off her bike, as a thank you she gives him her flower & smudges her whiskers.

Their life ensues. Moving in, marriage & she three whiskers become two, her ears slip & tail loses it's life.

She's putting her bun in the oven when her tail gets caught in the door.

Ripping it off.

Devastated she goes to find a sewing kit to reattach her tail. & finds something.

Porn.

Upset, rejected - she doesn't look like them anymore.

Devastated she attacks herself attempting to sew on her tail, blood seeping, tears flowing.

A heap on the floor, he comes in.

Disgusted & repulsed at her - tail off, ears damaged & whiskers barely there, he leaves her.

So she wipes away her cat. Revealing herself.

Bare.

3rd Year Pitches!

For the third year pitches I should be pitching three times... Two of which will be my own projects, the third a project which I'll be producing if it goes ahead - Jordan Allnut's short film Bottle.

Ancient Family.

A project I worked on in my pre production module in my second year which I'll be pitched as production bible as opposed to a film.

A production for an animated sitcom which breaks the fourth wall revolving one families life in the Underworld.

Desire Me, Desire Me Not.

A relatively new project, a short film about a girl's declining sexuality in the eyes of a man. Very much inspired by the amazing work of Regina Pessoa, using a very limited colour palette & metaphorical imagery.

Bottle.

A short film using a minimal colour palette about one man's journey into the outside with the help of character's come to life in his boats in bottles.

Getting Back to It!

I have gone MIA since summer started due to work & all manner of other things...

BUT I've been working on my Ancient Family concept, deciding that I would like to develop it as a full bible as opposed to a short film.

Some of the feedback I received, mainly from the tutors, were that the character styling were too harsh & pointy. So I've started to experiment with different character styling concentrating on the four main characters initially.

A more cartoon like simplified approach to the family, which I also think allows for more personality to be conveyed in a way due to the simplicity of the features.

2nd Year is Over!! So have some more sketches/paintings! :)

Inspired by @Fevur & @Robsayart on Instagram!! 

Deep - Final Hand In.

Unfortunately we were unable to complete the film completely, as there are two characters missing from the shots with the Mob Boss & Heavy character due to a delay in the character animation.

As the limited time meant that the animation was unable to be completed in addition to the clean up & colour.

So here is the finished scene for the hand in which the two characters of the Mob Boss & the Heavy.

There are some details which would ideally need to be amended, for example the lightbulb currently appears to be floating & the lighting through the door in the last shot isn't entirely correct....

Underworld - Yet More Concept Art...

Part of the feedback I received during a tutorial was how I could explain details of the narratives & the ideas of the Underworld, however they weren't being displayed visually.

So I created a few additional pieces of concept art to aid the narratives & to the audience can see this in front of them as opposed to me just telling them...

Charon fishing out Darwin out of the River Styx...

Momma Leucia carving up the dinner of a human leg...

Leucia in her job turning a guilty creature to stone...

Deep - Yet more adjustments of the solar system...

This solar system model has caused me some issues... as someone who works predominantly in 2D this 3D style has been a massive challenge for me. 

Each time I think I have sorted a problem another one seems to arise!

I initially had issues with planets jumping due to movement of the seams, which I didn't really

understand at first... but worked it out eventually! 

Then issues with the speed & timing of the rotations of the planets & how they move in accordance

to their position in relation to the sun & the effect of gravity.

Also had issues with the fact the planets collided & went through one another... so I had to move the orbits & expand the orbits in order to avoid them.

But it has been a huge learning curve for me & I have learnt a lot in Maya from texturing, to motion paths, to using the graph editor in different ways etc.

Underworld - Coloured Interiors!!

The coloured interiors & house layouts! Mainly texture based with the same colour scheme & interior design style with gothic influences with an element of contemporary design & style brought in...

Used a pro marker palette in order to create the main colour & to continue similar textures with the characters & backgrounds, so some sort of continuity is maintained. 

This is pretty different from what I have ever created due to the amount texture & detail involved & I experimented with new techniques & brushes. 

It also allowed me to experiment with light & shadow  in a different way which was interesting & a learning curve for myself.

Underworld - Ready To Be Judged?

Part of Greek mythology - particularly in relation to the Underworld is to do with beliefs of the Afterlife!

So as part of the concept art for this animation I designed the different areas of the Underworld... & the process of how you get there!

The elevator ride down from the mortal surface & world into the Underworld...

Cafe Morte... the waiting room of the Underworld. Purgatory, waiting for Charon to take you to be judged..

The Elysian Fields! Where the good souls go & the countryside of the Underworld, undamaged.

The Fields of Punishment, now the sweat shops & factories of the Underworld.

Built on by its dwellers.

& Tartarus, the flamey horrible painful part of the Underworld at the centre of the Earth for the worst of souls...

Crocodile Tears - Final Shot!

This is the final shot I completed for Crocodile Tears before the final animating deadline!

I was slightly panicked as it was longer than I had anticipated for the time I had to do it... but I completed it!

In this shot as well there were also some details to change of the previous clean up as there were some continuity errors.