The Reel - Shark Character Design

Some basic character designs I had done previously for the project The Reel for one of their scenes which has now been cut, but I'll be doing further design work on other scenes.

Inspiration & reference for the designs on my Pinterest!

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.

The Reel - Mask Texturing.

Texturing is a very new thing to me & working on the Reel is the first time I've tried it since texturing & modelling a rock in first year...

I was given the UV unwrapped mask which Oly had modelled to add colour to as well as a wood like texture. Due to slight differences in the models & my original design the colours didn't match up exactly as they did previously. However I used the same colour schemes & basic design.

I also used a simple wood texture background to work on top of in a chalk like Photoshop brush to create a painterly wood texture type appearance.

The Reel - Character Skin Colours.

I also added the skin colour to the 3D characters on the UV unwrapped designs in Photoshop.

Initially I experimented with adding some details and muscle tone to the characters, however due to the character shapes the team felt it was unnecessary as the lighting and body shapes created enough detail, highlights and low lights.

The Reel - Further Concept Art

Examples of mask designs for the characters in the jungle scene for the reel.

I researched a variety of tribal masks & body art/face paint for references, which are all on my Pinterest, which I then combined & developed in different shaped masks.

I received some feedback that some of the colours need to be less rich & bold - less primary - & therefore more pastel tones of colour.

I also experimented with skin colour for them to choose from repeating for each colour, allowing them to choose skin tone for each character.

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!! 

Some Sketches/Paintings from the past few weeks...

Deep - Final Shots; Rendered Solar System & Coloured.

The showreel for my work on Deep!

In scene 26/27 I did background design & layouts, 3D animation & modelling of the solar system & also character colour.

A lot of these were a challenge for me due to new techniques, software & styles!

I struggled my way through Maya to create the solar system, but also learnt a lot regarding lighting, texturing, motion paths & rendering.

& the background design pushed my style & use of reference, whilst improve my sense of perspective.

Regarding the character colour I learnt a fair amount about ToonBoom also!

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...

Underworld Concept Art!!

Concept art with backgrounds & full colour!

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...

Underworld - Characters.

Secondary character designs & additional character poses for the character of Leucia & a more detailed & developed design of Charon.

Again using block colour mainly with less of a use of texture & dramatic shadow which need to be added in accordance to the background & background design/lighting.

Leucia illustrating her penchant for alcohol...

The annoying hippy, ultra positive new neighbours...

Aunt Persephone.

The old lady maid.

Leucia's pimp-like boss.

Thina's gay best friend..