Collaborations

So as some of you may know, as well as working primarily on my own film, I'm also working on a couple of others. To start, I'm helping out Jordan Morris on his film ( http://wannamakeafilm.blogspot.co.uk/ ) refining storyboards and keying ideas that will make for a very funny film. Keep updated with him as he has recently changed his initial idea to something shorter and less odd! Although having said this, it is still rather quirky and random, but nevertheless, it's funny.

As well as this, I've opted to help Tom and Lora ( http://tommthirdyear.blogspot.co.uk/ ) by doing a small animation clip for their CG film.

River Man -Alternate Ending' Storyboards (P1)

As I may (or perhaps may not!) have mentioned before, I plan to change the ending to the original RM storyboard, due to my awareness of how difficult it would be to animate an Umbrella into the film. So I decided to cut said umbrolly and the accompanying rain, and come up with a slightly different confrontation between the two characters.

Here is what I have managed to come up with so far. As this is a new ending, I haven't made the push to properly neaten the panels (as I would like some feedback first), so all of these are quite rough and the backgrounds are just roughed in. Also with these characters, the designs are not yet complete, so they may not end up looking like these ones.

The following occurs after AJ has run from the bridge and is heading down the side of the river.

River Man Alternate Ending Part 1

AJ runs to bank of river

Looks over the side

Back shot of him looking over/down

Worried

Frantic looking

Wind blows

Looks up/notices

Man walking towards AJ

AJ stands up straight

Closer shot (wind blows again)

Close up of AJ who looks awe stricken

Man gets closer

Behind shot

Warm smiling

Looks down towards AJ hand (left)

Bridge and River Inspiration

Here are a select few primary photos that I thought would best reflect the location of my film. Although the bridge isn't old, the lighting was good and the area about the river made for a nice scenery for the backgrounds. I will post some more primary photos of other locations that have also inspired my film. (Also if you're wondering, the man in the beige fleece is my Uncle.)

^ Looking down from the bridge into the water^

^Ripples on the surface of the river^

Character Design Exercise 1

I wasn't overly fond of doing this exercise, but it was an eye opener to how different shapes can determine a character's personality. For this task, we were asked to draw our characters based on the three basic shapes, square, circle and triangle, and be quite literal with using them.

Here we can see the basic shapes behind the drawings, as well as the sketchy lines.

Left: This is the character of 'Average Joe' who I always thought of as being a very uptight (but not stuck up) character, where he's almost always tense or anxious about something, but is kind, although not very strong, which is why I thought that the shape of the square didn't suit him very much, but it suits him more that it would have the River Man. Added curved edges give the impression that he's not a bad guy.

Middle: River Man v.1 where I tried to use the circle, but I found it near impossible, so I stretched it to make an oval. This makes him seem slender but friendly and also agile and strong (hence the shape of his legs). I also tried making his hair more curvy so that the shapes were pretty outstanding.

Right: This one was very difficult because of the way that I tried to make the shape obvious, but I ended up making him a bit out of proportion. I don't very much like this design, as it just seems a bit too realistic, and the shape of the triangle doesn't suit his personality of being friendly and strong, but makes him look weak and cold.

The neatened version without the shapes and sketchy lines.

I added shading to give them some life and to emphasise on the personalities.

A slightly different approach to 'Average Joe' who I made more lanky and not as strong looking. This also shows you his shapes, leading to his more detailed form, and finally shading/colours. I prefer this version of him, because it suits his personality much better.

Average Joe

River Man

While this task has taught me a lot about character designing, I still believe that I could improve these, such as the one on the right, his hair could be shorter like the one in the middle to really make the shape of the triangle stand out more. 

Mood Boards

Here are a few mood boards to show colours, expressions, and textures that inspire the film. A lot of the images show historic themes, which reflects my interest in history and why I wanted to set the location of the film somewhere where there was an old bridge.

This mood board shows some expressions and emotions that are subtly displayed in my film. There is also references to hair and reflections, as well as some well known stories that inspired my idea.

The two sets of images show references to colours and textures, with help on lighting and shading.

This mood board shows inspiration for clothing, hair and references to splashes.

Studio Ghibli inspiration.

Average Joe Design (Rough)

I've shown the improved version alongside the sketch I did before it. I adjusted the posing so as he was not as slouched, and made him a bit wider. 

River Man Skin Tests + Head Poses

Here are some skin colour tests along with head poses for River Man. I think that the dark skin is a little too dark, even though I think he should have slightly tanned skin, while he wouldn't surface much, he would similarly resemble that of a native human such as a Native American. But with the dark hair, I think a bit lighter skin tone is better.

Average Joe

Here are some initial sketches for the character of the man on the bridge. I went for a 'Regular Joe' concept so he is somewhat the opposite to 'River Man'. I tried to make his character seem a bit boring and ordinary, and River Man would be a bit more vibrant and odd. I tested some colours that may seem commonplace in modern society and reflect the dull and ordinary existence of 'Average Joe'.

Colour version:

In my opinion, I quite like both the blonde one, and the light brown colours. I shall, however, get some feedback on this, so that it can appeal to the audience. 

'River Man' Revamped Character Designs

After looking at the character designs for River Man from here: http://conceptdesignsheerforceofwill.blogspot.co.uk/ I decided to see what it would be like in my style, since our versions of RM are slightly different, although I love the colour schemes they used for him, and the added features such as the 'sideburns'. I felt, however, that in the human version of him, I wouldn't have the sideburns as I didn't think they looked right, but other than that, I love him as he is. The point of this post is to see what RM would look like in my style when it comes to animating. I tried to draw him as best as I could, and I changed his human clothes to something simpler, as I thought it would be a bit odd him coming out of the water in a suit and tie, so they were changed to a woolly jumper and skinny leggings.

Here are the sketch versions, I'll add the colour version later on.