Dissertation...

No new updates for now. The final major project is on hiatus until I finish my dissertation followed by a well earned short break for Easter and a couple of days celebrating mine and Todd Crawford's birthdays. I will be storyboarding here and there after my dissertation is printed, bound and handed in and when that is finished I shall post it up here :)

New directions...

I know it is very very close to the deadline but somehow I have got myself stuck in a rut...I find it very hard to motivate myself to do more animating when I've somehow lost all my passion for the film. This final major project has been problematic from the very beginning and the pressure of having to make a good graduation film seems to sap all the fun out of it. NOT GOOD!


Also, my testing of the animation tools in Corel Painter didn't go so well...I spent a fair few hours animating and then for some reason when I scrolled through the frames the layers from each frame piled on each other making the brush strokes look heavy, pixellated and lost all transparency. I don't really know what happened but I think I will stay away from this animation tool before I waste any more time, effort, work, blood, sweat and tears...


Before flipping through frames:

 

After flipping though frames:

The problem lies in the fact that you can't save a file in framestack [animation] mode - it auto saves so any changes that can't be undone (like this one shown and described above) can not be changed back. It is quite frustrating...I think I made a mistake somewhere by not merging the layers after completing each frame...but I like having layers as it allows me to go back and fix mistakes.


As a result of this setback, I have taken many walks outside in the sunshine to clear my thoughts and give me some new inspiration. I think it has worked, It is a bold and risky move but I have decided to re-script my film and I'll also re-storyboard the film. If I can complete the storyboard then being able to see the end might act as extra motivation for me.


For now, here's the new and final script. Yes, it is definitely the final one now because I don't want to go back to tan early stage again; especially with so little time left. My justification for this move is that I am much more happy with this new script than I have ever been with any of my older ones. I also feel that I have simplified the animation job meaning things will be easier for me in the long run. Just need to storyboard, then animate like I will die if I don't, to get this all finished for the hand-in date. FUN!

Visual tests

I've been messing around on Corel Painter trying to get a suitable brush - after messing with the brush settings and making scribbles for a few hours I have finally found a very nice configuration! At times I feel it's far superior to a real brush (in my hands) but at the same time it can be more difficult to produce certain lines compared to a real brush. I have to adjust my pressure, tilt and velocity very carefully to achieve the right look. All things have to be considered for each line - the smoothness, the varying thickness, the parts that emulate the look of stray brush hairs and also the transparency - emulating when the ink of a Chinese brush runs lower towards the end of a stroke.

Taking some images from the storyboard I have created some mock stills which might eventually become my final layouts. I am also falling way behind schedule! But it's all good since I'm making progress :S

Here's a drawing of the graveyard at the beginning:

A background drawing for when the woman kneels at her late husband's gravestone:

A test for how the character would look drawn with the digital ink brush:

The front door from inside the house (notice the different colour background because the setting is now inside?):
A drawing of the female character from front view (also a scene from the storyboard) - there are some proportion issues concerning her jaw line but I think the hair looks good...

I need to get a move on with this animation - I have recently discovered that you can actually animate directly into Painter! If I can get this to work then I'll essentially cut my work time by half which I like the sound of. However, I'm concerned that it's not a well-known or obvious choice of program for animation which might mean it's not very good :S I'll give it a go anyway!

More bit of storyboard...

I noticed in my last post that I mentioned the photo-breaking scene. You would not know what the photo breaking scene is...because I had not posted the storyboard of that part of the film...because I hadn't drawn it the time I posted the other part of the storyboard. So here it is!

Actually...I remember now there was the introduction of a photo-breaking moment in the last animatic I posted. Oh silly me! But still, I should keep this blog up to date with the latest bit of the [current] storyboard.

Essentially, what happens in this last part of the film is that all the reminders of her dead husband drive the woman to a swirling pit of despair. She goes around breaking all the photos - photos that bring painfully happy memories and serve only to remind her of what she has lost. As the broken photos accumulate, the ghost of the husband starts to fade - the destroyed photos=destroyed memories=destroying his soul [somewhat]. I'm still unsure what to do with the end but hopefully as I animate I'll get into the flow of the story and find inspiration to complete the film. It's a bad way to work if I was in a group but as a lone artist I think it'll work out! I hope...

Some new ideas

I didn't really have a chance to finalise a visual style for the film which is rather shameful especially so late in the project! Now, I am pleased to say I've almost got everything sorted and there will be more polished looking mock stills to come.

The aesthetics; I am aiming to have a very hand-made organic feel to them. In my opinion a lot of animated films these days lack a little magic because they are over-rendered or too clean and smooth and lifeless due to the availability of computer programs. There's something about a lot of new digitally made animations that appear cheap, rushed and mass-produced which is a shame because the digital tools were created to allow animators to work more efficiently and economically. This should have potentially led to even more amazing looking animations but made in less time and although some people succeed...it also means too many people cut corners to make bigger profits...

Anyway, I got a little sidetracked! The visuals will consist of very minimalistic backgrounds and I will aim to de-clutter each scene to depict only what is essential - this is the key rule for artists who practise Chinese brush painting and Sumi-e. The details will all be drawn in black [digital] ink on lightly textured backgrounds.

These backgrounds were made by first staining cartridge paper with dye. When dry I layered several colours of oil pastel over the dye and then, with a paper towel dipped in a solvent, I blended all the oil pastels to produce a richly coloured and textured surface. I feel that it adds a lot of character to the film's visuals and helps a long way in achieving the organic feel I want.

I plan to use only three colours in the entire film: blue (above) for the scenes that are set outside in the graveyard.

This pink-ish shade will be used for the flashback sequences since it is a somewhat sentimental colour which gives a warm but dream-like atmosphere.

This brown shade will be used for the scenes set inside the couple's house - it has that homely warmth yet slightly nostalgic tone which I find appropriate for what was once a loving home.

For fun I have thrown in this background colour - I played with the idea of using it in those really violent/angry scenes in the breaking photos sequence but it is a little too strong and fierce a colour. Whilst typing this I had a slight change of heart...maybe I'll end up using it?

Ehhh...maybe not...