Finalising Character Design

I've been continuing the final character designs and animatic over the last couple of days. This means that I can soon move on to modelling the character whilst I continue work on the animatic and concept art. I feel like the characters now inhabit the same world in both style and structure. Despite the preproduction left to do, I will hopefully be moving on to modelling from next week. The character design stage has taken longer than expected, but this has always been one of my weaker aspects, so I feel it has been an important stage in improving and making sure the characters emote and correctly convey their own personality and ideals.

The animatic has evolved since the last iteration, however, due to the reformation of narrative it is still quite clunky. There are a few problems I need to overcome and some shots to be added but it is moving forward slowly.

The main issues that I currently need some time refining and working out are:

- The argument scene in which the female pianist tells the repairman to leave. Shot need to be added.

- Setup why his name badge would be on the floor when she picks up her shopping.

- Should the repairman stop playing the piano the minute she walks into her apartment? I think he probably should as she'd immediately burst into anger that he is in her apartment.

Concept art is also moving along but I will show this when it is starting to look good. Keep an eye out for modelling progress next week and the final pieces of preproduction.

Developing Character

I've been trying to get my characters to look and feel as though they are from the same world, and finally I feel like they are moving closer to completion. Last week, for my tutorial I decided upon a character for the repairman. However, over the week I've been having some doubts and now I feel like the fatter, round headed design works better. Especially when compared with the design of the female face which hopefully is also an improving. I personally feel the second face on the left, top row is the most stylised and accurate for the character.

It feels like the male head shown in the third page down fits well with those of the female in the top design sheet. However, feedback and suggestions would prove most helpful. I've also started thumbnails on the environment ready for concept art this week which can be seen below.

There is a lot to be done but I feel more motivated now that some of the design struggles are beginning to fit together. I will be posting an updated animatic asap and hopefully begin some areas of production this week. Feedback and critique are always the most helpful ways of moving on.

Charlie Kaufman - Screenwriters Lecture

Charlie Kaufman is one of the greatest but least known screen writers of our time. His work has always been unique and melancholic in a very personal tone. Many will know his work, but may not know the man himself, he is shy, quiet and unreported. But I recently stumbled across this BAFTA lecture which is not only inspiring and enlightening, but sometimes moving and very humble. He communicates a very important message that perfectly conveys the importance of all art in a single comment.

"We are lonely, and empty, and scared. And we are lead to believe that winning will change all that. But there is no winning. What can be done?..Say who you are? Really say it, in your life and in your work. Tell someone out there who is lost, someone not yet born, someone who won't be born for 500 years. Your writing will be a record of your time. It can't help but be. But more importantly, if you are honest about who you are, you will help that person be less lonely in their world. Because that person will recognise him or herself in you. And that will give them hope...Give that to the world, rather than selling something to the world." - Charlie Kaufman

Lecture Link - http://guru.bafta.org/charlie-kaufman-screenwriters-lecture-video

Mudbox Tutorials - Hard Surface Modelling

The latest Mudbox tutorials have continued our developments in hard surface modelling whilst introducing us to further tools. This week in particular the pose tool was highlighted, which seems useful in some respects, but is also incredibly clunky and difficult to manage. However, I spent some time continuing work on the model, which is starting to take shape but really needs many more hours to bring out the detail. The turnaround below shows the current stage, which is all rather block and unrefined.

Fantastic Mr Fox Concept Art

Whenever a project is proving difficult and things aren't going right it is always a good idea to get some inspiration. Seeing as I am still struggling with art direction and style the concept art from Wes Anderson's Fantastic Mr. Fox may help motivate me to overcome this hurdle. Whatever you thought of the film, it is hard to overlook the beauty of these stunningly illustrated pieces. They capture an emotive, hand drawn quality that is born from the illustrations of Quentin Blake and something that I really need to capture within my own work.

The Artist (2011)

This week I managed to get to see Michel Hazanavicius' The Artist. A silent film that is a hot contender for the Oscars this year and a film that really plays out a love story to the films of the past. I went in with some trepidations after hearing such positive reviews and thinking it couldn't possibly live up to such high expectations. However, it surpassed anything I expected and I came out utterly in love with such a superb film. It is classical in every way, from its Chaplin/Gable-esque protagonist, to its dark yet charming romance. I could not recommend the film enough, especially to animation students, something I will discuss after the trailer.

It dawned on me within minutes that this was the perfect film to watch during preproduction of my own project. Whilst I struggle with my animatic, this film demonstrates just how much narrative can be told through the use of camera. Silent film has always had to rely on this technique and The Artist does it perfectly. Without speech the camera is one of the primary means of communicating. It is no wonder that Hitchcock was such a master of the art, his career started in the silent movie era and as he evolved, this basic principle still grounded his work. It is a technique that many film makers forget about and it is definitely a principle that I need to remember in my own work. 

The Artist is a film for everyone, it is beautifully crafted and unpretentious, whilst compelling in every way possible. Sad, joyous and dramatic at every turn, it is not only a film perfect for film lovers, but also for introducing people to an incredible cinematic past. I challenge anyone to see the film and not fall in love.

Struggles with Design - Feedback Required

Whilst the animatic develops I've been trying to finalise my character designs but so far I've been coming up against a few problems. The male character seems to be going down the right road, but the female struggles to fit with the design and style of the world. So I've been trying to rethink and go back to sketch book stage. Below is the development so far.

I think the sketch at the bottom on the last page is leading to a possible design and so this will hopefully lead somewhere. But currently I'm having fears that my style isn't communicating well enough and I want to avoid any generic CG. Meanwhile I've been developing the final character for the repairman, the sheet below shows some possible silhouettes for the character's overall design.

As much feedback as possible would help as this weekend I want to complete my character designs, environments and animatic.

Character Design

This week I've been trying to push my character design forward and hopefully get close to completion. It has also been a stage that has allowed me to experiment with the art style whilst still in sketching. The pages below demonstrate some of possible designs for the repairman character, these were developed from the silhouette stage and then drawn with some detail in order to see how a possible saturated art style could work.

After feedback these character sketches will move towards a final character, presented and converted into orthographs. The process has also begun with the pianist, however, this character isn't as resolved as the above. 

The animatic has also been adjusted and is ready to be moved forward, this week I want to add more shots and get the close ups and eye contact between characters working. Hopefully this version is starting to move in a better direction.

This week I'll be trying to get these final character designs drawn up and ready for production. I will also try and get the concept art for the environments drawn up, all while continuing the editing of the animatic.

Mudbox Tutorials - Hard Surface Modelling

Last weeks tutorials started to examine hard surface modelling within a sculpting application. To do this, we started with the human base mesh and used a variety of tools to carve into the mesh. The effect is achieved mainly through the flatten and pinch brushes which allow the user to create straight, creased edges. Sculpting always takes time so the model is really only in the early stages, but hopefully I'll have the chance to go back to it and start finalising the piece.

Character Design Pages

I finally managed to get around to scanning in some pages from my sketchbook and getting them up on the blog. These are sketches from last week and this week, experimenting with possible ideas for my male character. This has since moved forward and I am now moving ahead with digital drawings similar to my previous post.

My tutorial yesterday went really well and after some discussion on improvements needed for the animatic and character design possibilities this should be a productive week. The animatic is working well as a base, but the set-up of the situation needs work and the small subtle glances need to be more prominent.

Animatic and Design Update

The first animatic is ready and at this stage is very rough and crude, but hopefully it is starting to move forward towards something that is more suitable for a short animation. The music is temporary, this is an aspect of the film that I will have to get after the complete animatic is generated.

Meanwhile I've been trying to make a break through with my character design and style. I've spent a lot of time sketching but it was all going round in circles. So I've tried to work digitally more and start the process again. The page below shows some of the experimental sketches that I've begun to create quick facial structures that can be developed later in more detail.

This allows for very quick studies to be generated and see which structures offer potential. From these I will create more detailed sketches and ideas. I've also been experimenting with possible styles, and created some more complex character studies along a possible art style. This style was inspired by the work of J.C. Leyendecker, a superb artist who I have referenced previously (http://jordanbuckner.blogspot.com/2011/02/jc-leyendecker.html.)

More will be uploaded later today after my tutorial.