The Reel - Mirror Designs & Interior Hell Scene

 In addition to the exterior of the Hell scene I've also created rough concept pieces for the interior areas of the Hell scene in which the Devil character stands in front of the mirror talking to himself & then walks out onto the balcony to shout into the depths of hell.

Above are some examples of possible layouts & wall details incorporating some gothic style elements such as pillars & skulls, with other contemporary details.

The original mirror concept incorporated melting candles as a way to light up the mirror & character, bringing in details of skulls & bones to add a hell-ish element. I received feedback from one member of the team that he had envisioned it like a giant make up mirror with light bulbs around the edges of the mirror wish I tried to incorporate below.

Animation Backgrounds - Layout

I chose to base my animation background adaptation on one of Nathan Aardvark's illustrations, looking at a natural yet surreal world.   Looking at the main details - & my favourite details - of the layers of foreground & background in Aardvark's illustrations, I exaggerated & repeated the forms in order to created separate layers. For example in the foreground I used a collection of mushrooms & fungi in order to create the layer. The layer behind that incorporated the plants & more surreal details in the swirly patterned & shapes plants & flowers. The background layers consist of more simply mountainous regions & a cloud/sky layer.

I created a hand drawn version on tracing paper to give me some kind of idea & concept of how the layers would look like once incorporated - though some layers aren't quite visible.

The image to the left is the layers together in Photoshop. I think the layers work effectively together but it appears slightly busy on the right hand side, so I may need to take out some details. Probably the flower above the mushroom on the right, as most of the flower is lost anyway.

The next stage will be refining the line art & then thinking about a colour scheme for the layout. Taking into consideration the light source & how areas will be illuminated & in shadow.

Animation Backgrounds - Lady & The Tramp

After looking through a variety of image on the animation backgrounds blog my favourite of the backgrounds were from Disney's Lady & the Tramp.

I think the use of lighting in these backgrounds are incredibly effective in creating the mood & atmosphere within the scenes. The first image creates the impression that the outside is unwelcoming due to the dark lighting & muted tones, the warm brighter tones of the door way imply that the interior of the home is inviting & safe. The third image evokes a cold atmosphere due to the black & grey tones & the use of silhouettes creating hard lines in the foreground.

The use or view of the camera in these backgrounds are interesting as they often appear to be looking over objects - such as fences - or from above constituting the idea that there is someone watching the scene or that they're moving over these objects.

The first three backgrounds contrast the fourth in its use of colour, the first three use darker muted tones implying the cold, unfriendliness of the outside. The use of blues creating a sense of sadness & loneliness of the outside. The fourth image shows the nature & exterior in a different light, using a range of colours using a palette of mainly pinks & greens implying a warmth & open atmosphere.