I started life drawing classes a fortnight ago, and there's certainly some interesting things to be learnt here. I've spent so long drawing on the computer I feel i've lost thouch with pencil and paper. I've also always had a very heavy line, cartoony style so rendering 3D has sometimes been a challenge.
My sister(studying visual art) tells me lighter lines, and to use more shading/tone instead of line. I think i might try some charcoal and also some better quality paper next week. Also a scanner instead of these silly camera shots.
Its interesting thinking of anatomy in terms of animation as well. After drawing so many fluffy creatures I've had to pick up my skills on humans quite a lots in the last 12 months. Some experimentation with style alongside that.
I'm a lot more comfortable with using humans and the concept of using them in an animation now that i actually know a bit more about how to visually describe them :)
^ Apparently my best shot at foreshortening
^One of my favorite poses
^a more linear stylistic approach
Obviously I've edited out the more shoddy ones, hopefully some improvement will show in weeks to come :)
Spammage of concept ideas i know, i know. xp But i'm in idea generation stage so here is also my complex vfx shot concepts. First, the shot board generating of thumbnails focusing on lighting, composition and scale (not o much the ship itself but the environment).
PLS CLICK THE THUMBS FOR FULL VIEW IMAGES :) Big is better
And here the silhouette development for the actual ship design, as you can see i'm going for a flying transport vehicle based of a Chinese junk ship. Anthony informs me the dragon head design is the most original but the sails of the ghost ship would complement the style more. (Working on combining the two currently).
Next lesson we will be starting to develop the artistic direction so i need to have:
final 3 shots chosen
final ship design
thoughts on culture/setting/people
----------------------------
Lecturer's tips for my art in general (not just this project)
produce more art! show quantity in blog/online display it!
my technique and style is going fine and will evolve as long as i keep practicing
a balance of cartoon and super realistic will complement my work (i'm actually quite enjoying the change in direction for this project!)
Continually try to break your style/try new things, but note that in the end this will often just refine/develop it. Do this anyhow :)
I just realized that idea had its origins also in a deviant artist whose style is quite interesting here are some pics...
[Phobs on Deviantart] A much more Mongolian almost oriental style. Russia covered a vast area to the east and south too - Tibet etc. Perhaps i should explore an entirely different Russia?
Just finished Story and concept class where we re-watched the animated shorts up for Oscars (Paperman won of course, my second favorite is still Adam and Dog).
So here is one of the vague concepts I have with a Russian flavour -perhaps imperialistic Russia vs. Communist new world? One of my mates has fostered in me an interest in the Romanovs/Tsarist Russia/Nicholas II's family that I also loved studying in modern history... but what about a plot?
I don't want a repeat of disney's cliche Anastasia, as much as she was one of the four daughters -perhaps something more realistic?/ After all the entire royal family was murdered in the process of revolution. A view from the inside out or outside in? Starving serfs and revolutionaries also play a part here too.
Hmmm... plot that will come next. First the visual/cultural/thematic inspiration.
A very interesting climate and architecture -very much victorian-esque but with the russian candy-house north/eastern european feel as well.
Very lavish decorative setting. Rich Imperial family. A bit too complex for modelling time restrictions? Or a challenge to be accepted? Some good matte paintings could save a heap of time. Quite a very English feel for the petersburg palace- close relations to other royal families- how to not loose the Russian feel and style vs. classic european?
St Petersburg Palace and the royal crest.
The royal family -some cool costumes that can also match character personality. A bit different to our Australian climate at the moment :)
Classic scary rasputin - the presence of religion in russia so closely linked to state/royal family.
And a slight contrast of reality..
Revolution, famine, violence as well. I would refer to this indirectly, a short animation is not long enough to deal with such topics. History is such a massive thing xD
///
There's something quite romantic and idealized about the royal family/loss of an era/ but they were also causing a lot of damage to the people of Russia -quite a large empire it might be good to recognize. So where to progress from there and how to treat the story?
Nothing in the world has a perfectly straight line. I think i'll remember that for future animations to create believability in modelling. I guess it also applies to curves in animation.
Finally i understand why i've always hated 3ds max. After all, all my art is based off line and movement and something that is so exact and particular just makes my eyes hurt -.-
I've always been dead set determined that the key to an awesome animation is story. Story is where i get my driving force for an idea and it always comes first.
Whatever the format, characters or style, story
is what captivates us and keeps us watching right to the very last moment. It is what creates drama, tension and action and can also bring to a movie
humour, hilarity, wonder and play.
From a more thinking/critical perspective from it also comes the
emotions and catharsis that can deeply move us and turn an animation from a
good click to a film that might stay with you forever. Here are a few of my favorites (film and animation).
Wall-E -where we fall in love with a robot
who doesn't even speak human, let alone speak for half the movie. I saw a few tears with his when that love which he gave everything for was
almost destroyed by powers beyond himself.
Pirates of the Caribbean (1 and 2 mostly) -the sense of freedom, rebellion, revolution and the loss of an era- captured in the awesome Jack Sparrow's humorous adventures and some pretty epic ship/battle scenes.
Kung-fu Panda 1&2 (dear god- a good sequel finally!). A fat pudgy panda and kung-fu. What could be more awesome!?
But hangon a second... what i am describing here is not just story- it also goes beyond it. The "epic ship/battle scenes" "pudgy panda" and cute Wall-E's while awesome because of story, would also be meaningless if not supported by their fantastic storytelling!!!
Would I fall in love without Wall-E's cute eye twitches, his awkward manouvers with Eve, his wide-eyed longing at the dancing people? I can pretty say that's a big 'No'. -So the character - its dialogue, body language, movement and interaction with other characters - those too play a part.
Particularly in Pirates of the Caribbean and Dark Knight I also always notice the power of sound. Dark Knight in particular has a very edgy, tense soundtrack that makes you sit on the edge of your chair and a violin that slowly scratches through notes till you feel like you will explode. Pirates on the other hand has a really orchestral soundtrack that makes you feel invincible and adventurous like Jack ***.
[***Hans Zimmer being one of my favorite composers may or may not have something to do with my selection of examples xp]
/A warning these videos are quite long so skip at will/
Sound effects such as Scrat's scratches and "eh" sounds are also what makes Ice Age so funny.
-----------
I asked friends and family their thoughts on a slightly side topic- can for example animation survive without a great soundtrack/ without story/ without pretty visuals - and got some mixed thoughts, though everyone agreed that all great animations had a really great combination of all three, and never ignored one or the other.
Everyone also seemed to agree a good story was what kept them watching. They could watch a visually pretty movie with poor plot [...might i mention here Avatar?] but they wouldn't watch it twice or buy it to own.
Awesome characters were also mentioned quite a few times. Also sequels that failed because while they might be visually as cool and have the same characters story was simply not as thought about as the first release. Or perhaps just didn't evolve from the first movie.
-----------
So there it is [i think xp] - story, animation and audio- the three key things that when combined together, and really truly developed, can make the perfect animation that sticks with you.
Hmm, some food for thought...
-Can animation survive without Story? /Animation? /Audio?
-Can animation still be powerful if one of these is not as developed /ignored?
-What do yout hink is most important; story/visuals/audio?
phew that was a really long post. I didn't think it would take so long to write xp Perhaps a shorter one for next time ;)
Wednesday, 20 February 2013
Hello and Welcome!
This here is the very start of Animated Thinking - a blog to document the creative journey of my final year at Central Institute of Technology. Besides documenting my production process I am also going to explore the who-what-why of animation history, technique, alongside my own influences and style.
I will try to keep as visual as possible and explore all perspectives. So here it is, my introduction.
