Tuesday, 26 May 2015
Character Inspiration 2
A collage of characters and shows that I find inspiring to the style.
(Open in new window for large view)
Films/TV shows:
How To Train Your Dragon 2
The Pirates in an Adventure with Scientists
Brave
Avatar, the Last Airbender
Zoetrope Inspiration
Because of the nature of the way the character will tell the story through light from a lighthouse, and because a lighthouse light spins, it got me thinking about how animation in its earliest form used spinning to demonstrate movement. The name of this is 'Zoetrope'.
Below are examples of a Zoetrope:
The character would use the same principle as a Zoetrope to create shadows on the lightened sky,
Links:
https://zoetropic.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/zoetrope15.gif
Character Design Development 1
Because Animating hair is always an issue, I thought about a way to overcome this, as in particular, the main character's hair is going to be long, so I thought what could I do to make it easier when it came to animating.
The thought that came to mind was to design a headdress or head piece. This would allow for more stable animating, and make it easier to keep size.
So I went about an origin for the head piece and what style would best suit the character. As the main character is going to be working with an almost magical aspect, I thought about ancient cultures that worked with magic. One of them was Egypt.
Plus Greek:
Then I thought about the hair underneath, and what styles they might have. This lead me to African hairstyles, and in particular, Afro hair, which has a rounded style and provided little movement.
As well as this, I looked at Middle-Eastern head-gear, and especially women's head wear. The style in which they wear the Hijab in Iran is particularly interesting.
From these, I hope to create a design that will enable an easier way to animate, as well as allowing it to express the character.
Links
http://thumb7.shutterstock.com/display_pic_with_logo/61973/61973,1328456984,1/stock-photo-gold-pharaoh-tutankhamen-mask-94393021.jpg
http://www.admiralcostumes.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/5301E.jpg
http://www.native-languages.org/images/egyptian2.jpg
http://www.fashion-era.com/images/all_greeks_romans/greekhairstyles.1.jpg
http://www.fashion-era.com/images/all_greeks_romans/greekhairstyles.1.jpg
http://magazine.foxnews.com/sites/magazine.foxnews.com/files/styles/1600_image/public/AfricanAmericanHair.jpg?itok=LvUylI75
https://mysacredbeauty.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/10249629-afro-hair-style.jpg
http://buiv.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/natural-afro-hair-small-300x300.jpg
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/9e/9f/a4/9e9fa4e8385edda4cb6948a21839fdf2.jpg
https://lstcccme.files.wordpress.com/2014/09/how-to-wear-hijab-modern-gallery101.jpg
http://scanfree.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/large-2.jpg
Monday, 25 May 2015
Brainstorm
Above is the brainstorm for my final film idea. I have an idea already about the theme and what it might entail. As of yet I don't know what the character will be like, but I know what the outcome will be.
The story I have in mind revolves (no pun intended) in and around a Lighthouse. Lighthouses have interested me for a while, but I haven't taken as much of an interest as I might have done with other things. But one thing that Lighthouses do that are interesting in their own right, is that they lie very close to the sea, which, along with rivers, have always been interesting to me.
So I thought I might like to do something with that. I also thought about the light from Lighthouses, and what I could do with that too. I had an idea of a character who uses the light to tell stories using silhouettes.
From this came an idea of a magician, or an illusionist of some kind, who is able to manipulate the light to create stories using light and shadows. The stories would be projected on the night sky.
I then thought about why they might want to do this, and then it occurred to me that they would use it to communicate to another across the sea.
Because it's a fantasy, I went on to think about whether there might be another involved who would provoke the main character to start making shadow stories, and make it personal to the character instead of just doing it for the sake of doing it. A love interest? A friend? A family member?
Then I thought of what the title might be. For now I'm calling it 'Keeper' as it related to a lighthouse keeper and also how it relates to a promise, such as they vow to keep making the stories until the other character returns.
Keeper definition:
noun
1. a person who guards or watches, as at a prison or gate.
2. a person who assumes responsibility for another's behavior:
He refused to be his brother's keeper.
3. a person who owns or operates a business (usually used in combination):
a hotel keeper.
4. a person who is responsible for the maintenance of something (often used in combination):
a zookeeper; a groundskeeper.
5. a person charged with responsibility for the preservation and conservation of something valuable, as a curator or game warden.
6. a person who conforms to or abides by a requirement:
a keeper of his word.
7. a fish that is of sufficient size to be caught and retained without violating the law.
Current Pitch
'Keeper' is a short animated fantasy about a magician living in a lighthouse, who because of war, uses their magic to give hope to soldiers oversea by creating shadow stories on the night sky.
Links:
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/keeper
Links:
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/keeper
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)