Mountain Thumbnails and Studies for Adaptation B

So far I've pictured the Astrologer's home seated on top of a mountain over looking a civilisation. It's his way of placing himself above his neighbours, and into the sky to see the prophecies. I'm trying to experiment with different shapes for the mountains. I made a few silhouettes to narrow down what I want. 

The Astrologer- Bird Thumbnails and Backdrop Concept for Adaptation B

In my animation I imagine the astrologer acting as a kind of bird watcher, scouting the night sky for prophecies of the future, as if they were rare birds he wants to document. Whilst drawing thumbnails, I realize that different species of birds could represent different types of prophecy. For example the swan could represent love, the peacock could represent wealth and the vulture could represent death. In terms of drawing style, I feel that using sharp, angular shapes make the birds resemble star charts. I also plan on using 2D animation for these as it creates a new dimension that separates the astrologer's world from the world of the stars. It also may save some time as I wouldn't have to model, UV and rig bird characters for the animation.

Below is a concept painting of the sky for the animation. I looked at images taken from the Hubble telescope, which depicted vast and colourful nebulas in space. I really want to use a nebula as the backdrop for the animation, as it introduces a new idea for the narrative. I can imagine the astrologer coming outside to look at the sky at night. He waits for a moment in the night where the sky suddenly bursts into the colours of the nebula and the prophecy birds appear. However after the thumbnails of the birds I realize that they may be drowned out in the bright background of the nebula, so I need to make them stand out more.

Below is an animation test done by an independent animator. Their account on YouTube is 'FiddleGriff Animation' and they are currently working on an animation about aliens. In this animation test, they show the alien fully coloured and animated with the backdrop behind. What I really like and want to know is how this animator got the texture for the alien creature. It seems to be some kind of mask that is used in After Effects, but I'm not sure. So if anyone knows how this is made, I'd really like to know as I'd like to test out a similar effect with the prophecy birds.

                            

If I can replicate the effect in this animation test then hopefully I can get a similar effect for the prophecy birds. 

Adaptation A- Sketches for Infographic

For the infographic project there are a number of sketches I want to feature in the final film. I've sketched them out to give a visual motif as to what I want out of my infographic. This will also help me create a storyboard and animatic. I'm not confident in After Effects or Flash, so I will need help from tutors. If I want help I need to be able to convey how these sketches work once animated.Here are some brief explanations as to what each sketch represents.

Habits of a Singleton

1. Never needing to shave

2. Watching couples they don't know

3. Having pride in a pet plant

4. Eating entire contents of fridge

5. Clearing out the drinks isle in shops

6. Growing use to morning breath

7. Delightful conversations with one's self 

8. Flirting with strangers, through the communication of 'footsies' 

Adaptation B- Character and Prop Development (feedback would be great)

When designing the astrologer, I have to consider what his personality is like as well as his position in the world he lives in. So far I picture the astrologer living alone on top of a mountain, isolated from a settlement located at the base of it. The locals who live here don't take the astrologers predictions seriously, despite the fact he can indeed predict the future accurately.

What makes the locals mistrust the astrologer is the fact he has an obsessive nature when it comes to fortune telling. Although he may look cute, he can turn very quickly and has a tendency to lash out at objects and people if he gets frustrated. So to match his personality I made sure his physical appearance had a few features that compliment and illustrate the nature of his personalty.

Below I've drawn four examples of costume that the astrologer could wear. However I don't won't to choose one of these to go with, I was planning on picking different aspects from the costumes to use in the final design. This is where feedback comes in handy.

Firstly I felt like he should be small and stumpy. He looks like someone who would be overlooked by others, hence his obsessive compulsion to gain people's attention with matters of the future. His small build gives away the fact that he's physically weak, and so he longs to have power over others. Predicting the future gives him a feeling of strength that he normally lacks in.

The second thing I wanted to incorporate into this character's design is to reference from an animal. I felt basing him on an owl was appropriate, as they are wide eyed, nocturnal creatures. I feel this is fitting with the concept of astrology. Also the owl is an animal that is typically used to be the symbol of wisdom, this creates an irony because the astrologer is not as wise as he likes to believe.

Finally I need to dress this character with a descent costume design. This part I've found particularly difficult to grasp as it may be the one thing to turn this character into something generic.

These are a few very rough sketches of the props that may be used in the final outcome. I haven't fully established the environment yet, as I usually come up with that after the story board has been made. However to get the story board made, I need to have the main character designed.

The Astrologer- Character and Narrative Concepts

Before I move further on with this project, I need to make up my mind about which character concept to go with when designing the astrologer. I've done two sketches of two very different looking astrologers. Number one is based on a mole, and his eyes are squinted because of all the time he's spent staring into telescopes. Number two is based on an owl, as it's a nocturnal creature that dwells in the sky. I feel that number two is my favourite, so I may continue developing him as the main character.

In the original fable, the astrologer predicts the future by observing the stars. However this turned his attention for what was happening in the immediate future, and he proceeded to fall into a ditch. In my adaptation, I imagine the astrologer living on top of a tall mountain, where he can observe the stars freely. When reading up on stars I realised that many constellations are named after characters of folklore and mythology. Also a lot of constellations are named for resembling animals, which gave me the idea, to have the stars form into the shapes of animals (birds in particular) and have the astrologer be a kind of bird watcher.

Character- Bee Weaponry

Character- Venenum Concept Art, Turnarounds and Expression Sheet

Character- Mater Concept Art, Expression Sheet and Turnarounds

Character- Game Play Development

This is a concept drawing of what the game would look like if it existed. It is a 3D video game to be played on consoles, and the target audience are young teenagers. In this still image, Lecti is faced with two wasp beasts, who are guarding the wilderness from the citizens of Parvus.

The wasps are the main enemies that Lecti has to face, and so there is combat between him and the beasts. On the drawing, below Lecti are two coloured bars. The red one measures Lecti's health, and the green one measures his stamina. I was going to add more health bars to the screen the show the status of enemies that Lecti fights, but I didn't want the screen to become too busy. So I came up with an alternative way to show the health of Lecti's enemies.

Under the enemies are glowing platforms, these are what give away to the status of any foe.

1. Red- the foe is aware of the player's presence, and intends to attack. This would be the colour that shows up in combat.

2. Green- either the foe hasn't detected the player's presence yet, or the foe has a reason to not attack, meaning it may be safe to approach.

3. Blue- the foe is sleeping or has been knocked out during combat.

4. No colour- this means that the foe is dead.

As the enemy takes damage, the colour platform starts to shrink, when it disappears that means the foe has been defeated.

When the player takes damage, they can restore their health from finding items to eat. Different items can provide different things for the player.

Flowers- increase the rate of health regeneration.

Red Apples- restores health.

Purple Berries- applies poison to weaponry for a short time.

Carrots- give night vision to player for a short time.

Green Apples- restores stamina.

Honey Orb- player takes no damage for a short time.

Character- Main Character Concept

My original idea for my game was to have it as an RPG, allowing the player to create their own character. However this made it difficult for me to design a main character, as that would be left to the player to make. So I played a few video games (for research) and I've decided to fix a character to be the centre of this game. This is Lecti, a male bee who was born with an extremely rare defect. He was born without a sting, and to a bee a sting is the most important part of their anatomy. The sting is the natural weapon of the bee which they'd use in battle to defend their Queen. It is a symbol that defines them as being part of a hive, and to die in battle whilst from using the sting is seen as a great honour.  

However Lecti has no sting, and is banished from the hive with disgrace, as he is seen to be rebelling against the queen for being this way. And so Lecti must now live out his life as an outcast, away from the protection of the hive. Optimistic as he is, Lecti sees the positive aspects of this outcome. He is free to determine his own lifestyle and can do what he wishes without the restraints the hive has on the other bees.

The name Lecti is one I've made up, taken from the word 'electi' which (according to Google) is the Latin word for 'chosen.'

Character- The City of Parvus

The game is set in a fantastical city called Parvus. The city is ruled by Mater and her hive, and the citizens are made up of different species of insects. 

 Like most cities, Parvus has a class system which is determined by species. Creatures such as ants are classed as workers and are made to work in the city mines until they die.

The working class live in very organic style homes. They don't build their houses, they grow them, as this is more affordable and convenient. However naturally made houses are not so comfortable and tend to decay after a period of time. This means that they have to be constantly re-planted.

The higher class citizens are more beautiful species such as butterflies. They have ownership over the workers and live in a district of the city known as 'Lofty' which is located close to the hive. 

 Their house are more artificial in style and are influenced by stone plant pots and greenhouses.

Character- Mater Concept and Weapon

Mater is a large, powerful character, and so I want her design to reflect on that. 

 When it comes to her weapon, I feel she would have a bulky war hammer. It would be a symbolism of her power and status as a Queen, which means it should look valuable as it would represent her royalty.

Character- Bee Hive Castle Sketches

I'm finding the bee hive castle really difficult to design. The game is set in a fantastical called Parvus. I imagine the city to be a cross between nature and Tudor architecture, which is why I'm finding it tricky to sketch for. I want to design the hive first, as that is the castle to the city, where the queen lives and rules from. If I get the design of the hive established first then I can build the city around that.

When looking into the style of the hive, I have referenced from Tudor castles, cathedrals and honeycombs. These are a few very rough experiments to see if I can combine the references together. I'm finding it difficult to draw neatly and now realize what a terrible architect I'd make.

Character- Wasp Beasts

When researching bees for this project I found out that wasps actually attack and eat bees. I wanted to incorporate this into the game, by designing the wasp characters in a more carnivorous style. I looked at predatory animals such as birds of prey, big cats, wild dogs and even species of apes. Earlier this week I saw a nature program called 'The Hunt.' This show has detailed footage of different predatory animals hunting for their food. There was one part of the program that feature chimpanzees hunting a small monkey. When they caught it, they started ripping it apart amongst themselves. Something about that gave me shivers, seeing chimpanzees, a close relative to humans, catch and rip apart a monkey with their bare hands seemed diabolical to witness. I would like to bring that kind of horror to this game through the wasp characters.

Character- Re-designing Mater (feedback would be lovely)

After speaking with Justin today, I realized that Mater (queen of the bees) needed more work on her design to give way hints of her personality. She is a figure in the game who is suppose to be the ally of the main character, however she does not act like it, and can be considered a villain in the story. I tried to portray this in the alternative drawings I've done here, and I wanted each design to look very different to each other. Feedback would be greatly appreciated, it would be good to have outside opinions on these designs. 

Character- Venenum Sketches

Venenum is a prominent character in the story of the game. She is queen of the wasps and the enemy of Mater (queen of the bees). Venenum's colony live in the dark over growth on the outskirts of Mater's land, however they are always plotting on taking the hive for themselves.

Narrative- Prettygirl49 Character Sketches and Head Orthographs

Narrative- Prettygirl49 Character Sketches

I've done a few touch ups to this character to make her fit in with the characteristics of the main character. I based her on a robin by colouring her cheeks and colour scheming her jumper. Feedback would be much appreciated.

Narrative- Chirper Character Expression Sheet

Drawing from the clay model allowed me to sketch out an expression sheet easily for our main character. This is to show what kind of expressions the character may be making in the animation. When it comes to rigging our character, we may need to use blend shapes to create these expressions. I don't think we will use all of these expressions in the final piece, I just think it's a good idea to establish how the face moves. For example the eyebrows could be raised or rotated to convey different emotions, also the mouth could be made to do the same.

Narrative- Character Body Thumbnails

After making a clay model of our main characters head, I thought that his body didn't match in quite the same style. Since this character (Twit) is based on the twitter logo, I looked to real birds for references. I've come up with a few rough sketches that could be used for Chirper's final character design. Some feedback would be appreciated for this.