29/07/15 - Scenery test

Messing around with Maya for the first half of the lesson today, I decided to see if I could create an ice crystal with a figure inside it.  Sculpting the crystal was easy enough with a cylinder primitive and adding a figure was just a simple matter of putting a transparent image on a 2D plane.  The two combined better than I expected them to, and I was able to create a small, illuminated diamond as a result!

You can see the actual video here on my tumblr, blogger won't upload it for some reason.

I intend to spend the rest of the afternoon working on an animatic, so hopefully that will be placed up here later on.

28/07/15 - Storyboards

Completed Storyboards for submission!
I haven't really deviated much from the original idea that I had for this scenario, but framing camera shots has never been one of my strong points.  Now that I have a basic structure down, I may experiment with conceptual shots and camera angles, and I also intend to make up a proper prop reference sheet and do some color tests.  I may also do an animatic some time in the near future, as our tutor has told us many times to work out the timing of our frames!

STORYBOARDS:

27/07/15 - Frozen diamonds and things

Sculpted a very simple crystal/gemstone/rupee model in Maya:

Though this isn't quite what I want for my prop, its good to know that making the general shape of the crystal is simple enough.  I could probably make a formation by adding a bunch of them together, though texturing that might be a little more difficult.

I've also drawn a page of concept art:
[[image pending]]

Which led me to looking into gemstones on matrix - having the idea of a cut and faceted crystal/mirror set in a rougher or more natural piece of ice.

27/07/15 - Storyboarding and Environment exploration

This week's goal is to develop storyboards for our scenario.  I've already set up a very basic one, seen earlier in this blog.  But here it is again:

• Tutor has suggested that I look at the source material for inspiration and observe how the shots there were framed and set up.  
• He also suggested that I compare the character and its color palette with my prop and see how the two of them look beside one another.  
• This would require me to design a model sheet for the prop itself - not required for this week but probably very handy to have around nonetheless.
• I need to look into how the prop and general environment will affect the character and its colors, as well as the way that the shots for my sequence are framed.  I'm probably going to need to sketch up a concept for my environment in order to help to establish this.

I do have a very quick pen sketch of how I would like the room to look, however:

[[Image Pending]]

A google search of 'ice room' led to the discovery of ice hotels, which have many rooms carved or built with ice.  Looking through them I can see a very distinct palette of cool whites, lighter blues and blue-green/aqua.  Greens, purples and occasionally pinks seem to provide a highlight or tint for most of these.

Elsa's castle from Frozen also presents a nice source of inspiration:

26/07/15 - Concept Development

Final notes for my scenario and concept!  All put into one tidy post for submission.

SEQUENCE:
The sequence is set in a frozen room, set into motion by Embry stepping into the bottom of the frame.  He walks forward. crossing the room as the camera pans up to reveal a large, icy mirror at the room's end.  Embry approaches the mirror in awe and wonder, his eyes widening in surprise as he sees his beloved trapped beneath the surface.  He reaches his hands out and rests them gently upon the ice, and a soft piano note plays out as the panel glows in all the colors of an aurora beneath his hands.  His fingers move over each of the mirror's facets, trying to find a way to reach Vasili as they all chime softly, lighting up under his fingertips.  As the glow fades away and plunges the room back into cold light, Embry looks helplessly at his frozen lover and tears well in his eyes.

CHARACTER:
Embry is a small golem who is searching for his lost love.  He is short and quite bottom heavy, featuring a slender torso and arms, but rather large, thick legs and feet.  He is made of clay and is textured appropriately, with a fabric wrap around his waist and a headband on his brow.  He has a smooth, rounded face with large eyes and a small nose.  A few shallow cracks are present in his clay, as he has been walking for a very long time searching for Vasili.  Though he is small, he is very determined and very emotional after having been separated from them for such a long time.


GENRE:
I am taking the Family genre of Big and turning it into a Romantic Tragedy.

26/07/15 - Character Model Sheet

Reposting a few things from yesterday, but here is the character sheet for submission!

CHARACTER TURN AROUND:

CHARACTER POSES AND EXPRESSIONS:

COLOR AND PATTERN SWATCHES:

25/07/15 - Character Development

Trying to work towards the submission deadline on Monday.  Here's the finished expression sheet for Embry!

• As I wanted him to be a very expressive character, I've tried to include a lot of poses here with a decent array of expressions.
• The ones I'll be using for the scenario are mostly going to be surprise, wonder and sadness, but I thought it would help to add things like disinterest and anger in as well, just to show his range of motion.
• The design of his eyes was specifically chosen to express his emotions - in most of these, they're a pretty clear indicator of how he's feeling.  His hair adds to the expression as well, changing shape depending on his moods.

Also here's a few poses of him doing various things:

And a color sheet featuring a variety of swatches and patterns that I thought would suit him.  All swatches have been taken from Colour Lovers.

• Solidified the idea that Embry was going to be a golem, and so picked out color palettes that would suit him.  Most of these are earthy colors that remind me of clay and clay formations.  Embry was made with clay or mud and I wanted his colors to reflect that.
• After asking for my classmates' opinions on facebook, it was decided that the bottom middle palette was the best choice for his final design.
• I'm still rather fond of the top middle and right palettes however, and feel like they look more appropriate for a man made of clay.  I'm sticking with the popularity vote for the meantime, though adjustments may be made in the future.
• I also experimented with a few simple patterns, as clay comes in a variety of colors and tends to marble together.  I feel like it gives Embry a very tribal or primitive look, which fits in with being a simple figure made of clay.