Minor Project - Boy Thumbnails #2

These are all starting to be more appealing in my opinion, I played around with proportions and tried to give it a 50's vibe (lots of stripes). There are quite a few I'm fond of: 24, 29, 30 and 31 I would say are my favourites.

Minor Project - Boy Thumbnails #1

I decided to sketch up some ideas for the boy character, I don't think any of these are my boy yet but I will keep jotting down ideas.

Minor Project - Boy Vs Bed Poem Progress #2

After some conversations with Phil here is how my poem looks at the moment:

There once was a boy who was scared of his bed,

For sleep he believed, would end up with him dead,

His parents told him there was nothing to fear,

As they shut his door, saying “go to sleep dear” ­

But the boy knew better, he was fully aware,

That his bed was a monster and his room was its lair,

With the passing of months, the boy started to rattle,

his life’s on the line, with his bed he must battle,

As the light began fading, his room became dark,

His bed was ferocious, on the hunt like a shark

His room started shifting, it was vast like an ocean,

the bed encircled him, his heart beat in slow motion,

he won’t be consumed by the jaws of the bed,

if silent he remains, he won’t lose his head,

This brawl requires stealth, that’s how he’s survived,

But now it’s become harder, being sleep deprived.

Exploding from the shadows, comes a ghastly grip,

The creepy coiling covers, wrapped around his hip,

The spinning sheets quickly travel up his tummy,

The dreadful grasp, encasing him like a mummy,

He is unable to move in the web he is stuck,

The beds creaking crawls closer, he feels out of luck,

With the monster in sight it lets out a scream,

The boy only wishes that this was a dream,

Slowly his eyes are shutting, they’re as heavy as lead,

The doctor prescribed pills, their effect starts to spread,

The parents awake, in the morning they discover,

That their boy is missing, they can only blame each other.

Life Drawing - 28/09/16

Life drawing was fun today, I tried to simplify the shapes in the drawings but I feel as if I could push it a lot more.

Minor Project - Boy vs Bed Poem Progress

I decided to try to write another poem that is a little bit darker in tone, this is how it is going so far:

There once was a boy,

He was scared of his bed,

For throughout the night,

Chilling thoughts filled his head,

Overshadowing him,

His bed would stare,

Quietly it muttered,

“Close your eyes if you dare”.

The boy was startled,

As his room grew dark,

The bed looked vicious,

With teeth like a shark,

his room became vast,

as if like an ocean,

the bed encircled him,

what an eerie notion,

he will be consumed,

by his fears manifest,

unless he can conquer,

his night time quest.

He remains vigilant,

Never shutting an eye,

For he believes,

There’s a chance he’ll die,

But from the shadows,

An unwelcomed grip,

The white of his covers,

Wrapped around his hip,

The sheets spin quickly,

Moving up his tummy,

He can’t escape them,

Encased like a mummy.

Some of it may need editing to make it flow nicer, but I think I prefer this version.

Minor Project - Boy vs Bed Idea

At the moment I am drawn to the idea of creating an animation that is about a boy who is scared to sleep. His fear will manifest in his bed that comes to life as a monster, the boy will have to fight off his bed even though in reality he needs to sleep. After talking with Phil about the idea he suggested I look at 'The Melancholy Death Of Oyster Boy' by Tim Burton, we discussed how the animation could have an accompanying poem. 

I've started to jot down some verses for a potential poem, it's very rough at the moment so it definitely needs some refining. I am also at the moment unsure if it should have a happy ending or perhaps an ending in which the morning comes and nothings happened (the boy is just tired). All of that will need to be figured out, but here is what I've written so far:

There once was a boy who was scared of his bed

Before he would sleep bad thoughts filled his head

Would he survive a whole night that was dark?

Or would he be inhaled by his bed like a shark.

Would he be safe wrapped up in his cover?

In the dark he may be hard to recover

Can he hear noises from behind the door?

The sound of a monster who let out a roar

Could his room shrink in the blink of an eye?

This poor boy just feared he would die

If he fell asleep would his life fade away?

All of these fears the boy needs to slay

Any feedback or advice would be greatly appreciated!

Maya Tutorials - 2D Facial Rigging Part 1 & 2

I was so excited to see this tutorial up so I did it today! after finishing them I quickly blocked out some poses. I am looking forward to trying out the 2D faces on more characters, it is a really nice effect! Thank you very much for making the tutorial Alan.

Minor Project - Proposals

After talking to Phil I changed up my thought process and landed at these ideas, I am pretty fond of the first idea. Both of the ideas need a lot of research and thought to create a solid story which is what I will focus on next, but as concepts I can see them being successful. As my goals and references are pretty similar in each idea I decided to condense the list down for idea two.

#1

Type of project:

An animated short that last roughly 2/3 minutes that focuses heavily on animation.

Core concept:

‘There once was a boy who was scared of his bed’ (Boy vs Bed)

The child fears sleep which manifests in his bed becoming a monster he wants to avoid, when in reality the bed is just trying to make him sleep. Potentially it could have a poem in which each verse has animation that accompanies it.

Research path:

• Child sleep disorders, fear, insomnia, night terrors, etc.
• Poetry writing tips/good practice
• Modelling/Rigging highly stylised characters
• Animating ‘stuck on’ faces in Maya

Goals:

• Stylised animation that focuses on poses to pose – mostly snappy but sometimes fluid. Influenced by Jelly Jamm, Pocoyo, The Lego Movie, etc.
• Cartoony/shape based designs like Genndy Tartakovsky’s character designs and other cartoon network shows.
• Create a film that makes me employable as an Animator

Outcomes:

• Animated short with a duration of 2/3 minutes
• Two fully animation ready characters: Boy & Bed
• Multiple simple sets based on the poem
• New techniques to animate faces

References:

• Tim Burton’s: The melancholy death of oyster boy & other stories
• Edgar Allan Poe
• Genndy Tartakovsky’s character designs
• Jelly Jamm, Pocoyo, Lego Movie, Wreck-it-Ralph, Ron &Rob

Notes:

There is a version of this project in which it is Bed vs Man, in which an adult needs to sleep as they have work in the morning but the bed prevents them from sleeping.

#2

Core concept:

‘When I’m lost the world seems to turn against me’ (Man vs Environment)

If I have to be somewhere at a certain time and I get lost it’s almost as if everything around me becomes an obstacle. The world becomes somewhat claustrophobic and the signs all look foreign.

Research path:

• Claustrophobia, anxiety, paranoia
• City designs, structural research
• Modelling/Rigging highly stylised character and buildings
• Animating ‘stuck on’ faces in Maya

Outcomes:

• Animated short with a duration of 2/3 minutes
• One fully animation ready character
• A digital set that can be animated/distorted
• New techniques to animate faces

Life Drawing - 21/09/16

It was great to be back in life drawing, can't wait to do some more.

Personal Work - Digital Doodles #3