Storyboard version...5...I think!

I've made so many bits of storyboard here and there that I don't even remember how many I've actually done! However, I do know in terms of what I worked on for longer than 10 frames...my handed-in storyboard for module 1 was my fifth :D

Here's storyboard version 5!

Yes, it is unfinished :( - It just seemed to go on and on and on...which makes me somewhat concerned for the length of it! Unfortunately, despite spending a good week on this storyboard I have decided to scrap it again. It feels like wasted work but I like to be optimistic and think of it as a step in developing my final story.

A good thing that has come out of my frustration is that I've decided to employ a different way of working to what I've been doing up to now. After a brief discussion with Leonie she suggested that I make my final film similar to my documentary film from my first year. Now, I have longed to make something like that and it's been in the back of my mind throughout working on this final film. The difference between then and now is that I've sunk into a pit of conventional working practices and expectations. I remember everything was done very spontaneously for my documentary and there was no proper structure until I animated everything and composited it together. It's a gamble but I'm willing to give it a go for my final film too. From now on, there will be no structure until it is finished. Not something I would do if I worked in a group on an industry standard film, but as an artist working alone I think it will be very effective and I hope it will produce something I'm proud of.

Oops...

I just noticed I have not been working on the character design for the male! That's pretty terrible...but I can only justify this by considering the female as a more lead role in the story :) If there is more screen time for the woman then I think she deserves more effort in her design! :P

Also, as I mentioned before, I find it a lot easier to draw women and therefore I'll pick up my drawing skills a lot faster. Not to mention that I'm feeling quite uninspired as of late so I can't bring myself to draw a man since it's so much more challenging for me...but maybe that's what I need to be doing...challenging myself...hmmmmm...

Character designs Part 2

Here's some more progressed character designs - I wasn't too satisfied with the designs I did for the hand-in and I have reservations with regards to the visual style. Here, I've experimented a little bit with visual styles but essentially I've gone for some quite detailed designs. They didn't take very long and are very easy to replicate but look more complete than the other designs.

I rather like the drawing on the bottom middle so I developed that design a little further. I also really like the simple drawing above it because the design is so clean but the variation of the brush lines' thickness gives it more substance.

The character is getting there I think - I like the ease of drawing a simple bob haircut. It's a simple enough shape that I can draw it quickly but the loose hair also means I can be more interesting with the animation by making it move with actions or in the wind.

Here, I'm trying out the use of more thick brush strokes and forgoing the use of a thin line pen. I think the style is also looking much more refined and I think it'll look very good animated :). The more expressive brush strokes add a lot of movement to the images even though they are static right now - it should help the animation along I hope!

And here, I wondered about going a different direction with the character's design but pretty much completely altering her appearance. I really really like the design but I had such a hard time drawing all those curls in her hair I think it's best to stick to the previous design!

Playing Catch-up

For a while I was still very unsure of what I wanted to do with the story so I thought it'd be good to take a break and work on some concept work or at least practice drawing since it seems like an age since I drew things properly. It's terrible!

To start with I looked through an old hairstyle magazine to look for pictures of people - these magazines are very useful reference!From some chosen photos I made some line drawings in a stylised manner hoping to create a cool visual style for my final film and at the same time, learn to draw women's faces since my film is so character-driven.

First, I simply used a pencil or pen to do rough sketchy drawings - I'm rather pleased :)

Then, I decided to be a bit more WILD and got out my paintbrush and black ink - I intended to use a heavy brush stroke style after all! Here, the shape of the hair and the direction of the locks were all done very quickly with brush and ink then the facial details were added with pen. I like this style but I'm not sure I can emulate it as effectively digitally.

Then, I decided to be a bit more WILD and got out my paintbrush and black ink - I intended to use a heavy brush stroke style after all! Here, the shape of the hair and the direction of the locks were all done very quickly with brush and ink then the facial details were added with pen. I like this style but I'm not sure I can emulate it as effectively digitally

Stay tuned for character designs!

Time Warp!

Woooh it's been a little while hasn't it? Well, I got my grade back for the first module and I'm very very pleased. I'm disappointed in myself for not producing concept artwork to hand in but good news is that I HAVE been working on some. It is rather difficult to create a suitable and established style that I can easily reproduce and yet won't take too much time (so faster for animating too!)

I created a new storyboard AGAIN and then made a half-animatic...AGAIN! But then scrapped it...AGAIN! It's horrible being in such a cyclical pattern...thinking I'm out of it then realising I'm still in it! Well...then for the hand-in I made ANOTHER storyboard which I find is better than the others but the story needs some cutting down...but there'll be some changes AGAIN.

I took a long walk today in the beautiful sunshine and refreshing breeze to think through things and have been re-inspired by a few things I have watched/read/listened to in the not so distant past.

more updates to come soon! :)