Chelsea Butler

So with Phil's feedback, it has been noted that my character's previous costume was a bit over the top. Phil sent me this image as inspiration: So I'm hoping I've toned it down enough, but not too much. Let me know what you all think :)

Here we have my first leading lady for my tightrope walker story! Despite the lack of name, she still has her personality! I was hoping to make this character rather girly and prim, a sort of snooty character with a competitive edge, but still loveable/memorable nevertheless! I'm hoping to make her counterpart contrast with her "princessy" manner. I was rather inspired after having been linked this video, with many thanks to  Julien  : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eebQYIUxjGw I also want my style to be quite cartoony to emphasise the comedic atmosphere, so I took inspiration from designs such as these:   So looking at the blocky shapes and sharp eyes, and taking influence from the lack of outlines in the art of the video sent, I came up with this! Below is a basic shape of what the body and proportions of this character looks like, and then the actual design of said character, including a potential costume design too. I wanted to make the pro...

Essentially, today was my first time drawing a female model, as of this term. It was enjoyable to draw a woman, although I can't help but feel that my downfall was using colour. I guess I'm just not used to using colour, but this session was about being experimental, so the results are still pretty good, if I do say so myself :) 

So I've been sketching out a few ideas as to how my two main characters could look, my leading ladies need a face after all! These are just some basic face shapes that I thought of, and hopefully the body designs will follow up shortly! Time to get back to work!

So on Friday we were introduced to a new design program known as Autodesk Sketchbook Pro. The session was then essentially just testing out the features and experimenting. I did find it similar to Photoshop to a certain extent, but admittedly I found it easier too. The symmetry tool was pretty fun to use! So, as well as experimenting, I also took the opportunity to start jotting down ideas as to how the character of my story could look. They are merely just scribbles but it's the start of something! At this point, due to the manner of my story, I was thinking of creating a cartoony style character to emphasise the comedic aspect; think Tom & Jerry style. Hopefully I will bring you more sketches and updates as we progress, so wish me luck!

From Script to Screen OGR

Here is my Like-for-Like Storyboard! I based this off of the scene " The Death of Sandman" from the animated film, Rise of the Guardians.

After speaking with Phil today, he managed to help me out with where my story could possibly be taken, which has made me feel more relieved and inspired. Thanks Phil! :) Story idea: There are two female tight rope walkers, both in the circus, that are constantly competing for the limelight and to see who the better performer is. Their catty squabbles and fiery attitudes have lead then to certain extremities when performing on the trapeze. Show by show, each stunt became more radical by the act, until one day, stunts and disputes went too far. Ridiculous manoeuvres have lead the two leading ladies to become hospitalised after a major accident. You would've thought that they would learn, but both are still in dispute, even if they are trapped in their body casts until recovery. Old habits die hard, will they ever learn? I like the fact that this idea has more of a comedic atmosphere to the scenario, with a somewhat moral ending, even if the characters never learn (Again, that c...

Figure 1. ‘Rope Movie Poster' What has to be one of the masters of suspense filled movies, Alfred Hitchcock’s “Rope” (1948) is certainly a theatrical performance that will draw the audience in, push them away, and draw them in once again. Figure 2. 'Viewing the killing'  Based on a single set of a lavish apartment, “Rope” (1948) is a rather audacious film about a subtly-hinted-about homosexual couple who commit the act of murder within this apartment, and then host a dinner party with the victims loved ones whilst the corpse is hidden in a nearby chest. The terms ‘theatrical’ and ‘audacious’ come to mind when watching this film, as it is portrayed to the audience with an exaggerated manner, acting-wise, much like a play production being executed on a live stage. By live, it is also being referred to the fact that there are no jump cuts within the film (or so it may seem), just one prolonged take. The cameras movements are hardly smooth, they are somewhat un...

So I've been trying to take in to more consideration as to what my 3 key aspects are and how I can utilize them. I've mainly been asking myself questions to help my thought process move along, such as: ~What genre will the story be? Comedy? Tragedy? Action/Adventure? Suspense-filled thriller? ~How significant is each aspect to your story? ~What's your inspiration? Could it come from the objects themselves? Perhaps an author, or director, or a character that already exists? Story idea 1: The main character is a tight rope walker and then becomes unwell in some way (illness or injury? Terminal or temporary?) and resides in a hospital. But one day, the hospital catches fire (purposefully or accidental? Man made or technical issues?) and as the fire spreads and puts lives in danger, the only way for the character to survive is to use his talent of tight rope walking and a fire extinguisher. Questions: Will their current state get in the way of escaping? Will they make i...

Drafting of the sequence: Character model sheet: Graphing the position of the character in the animation: So currently in Meg's class, we are creating a blob character to animate over the course of a few days, adding new elements each session. This session we are trying to have our character complete an obstacle. As this is a test, my character doesn't have many features yet, but at the moment I just wanted to see how the animation pans out before I finalise the frames. Meg is going to help me make adjustments as there are a few things I need to improve. I will be re-drawing a couple of frames as the character loses volume somewhere when he jumps towards the box, and then I will be prolonging some other frames to create a more dramatic sequence. Edit:

  Close-Up Shot:   Mid-Range Shot:   Far Away Shot:

So for this project, we are tasked with creating x3 30 second sound clips, each sound corresponding to a set of images that we were given during briefing, thanks to the mysterious blue box. Here are my images: Image 1:  Initial thoughts: Head lice, crawling, scratchy, scuttling little creatures. Cause an irritating itchy sensation, therefore I want to make the sound clip in a way so that it makes you want to grind your teeth and scratch your arms from the illusion of irritation. Image 2: Initial thoughts: An explosive burst of colour. Bright and powerful. I'd imagine some zing-y like sound effects with a possible base tone to emphasise the eccentricity of this image. Image 3: Initial thoughts: These unrecognisable objects, I imagine, would be floating in water, or some liquid form. They appear rather alien, so I may include the subtle metallic tone, but overall, I would like to keep the sound quite muffled and watery, as if little tadpoles were swim...

Half Roll: Full Roll: Double Roll:

And so 'twas the beginning of a new project, and briefing began on Tuesday. For this Script to Screen project, we are tasked with essentially building up all of the necessary components to "construct a 1 minute animation"; to "pre-produce". So to get the ball rolling for this project, at the briefing we were asked to select 1 thing from these 3 categories: - Character - Setting - Prop Because these components came from the infamous mysterious blue box, no one knew what they were in for! Here's my selection, I received: - A tight rope walker - Hospital - Fire extinguisher Now, it may all seem a tad random, but then, who doesn't like a creative challenge? So I got to thinking, what sort of story can I create from these 3 things? I started questioning all of the aspects of what I thought made a story. Why a fire extinguisher? Could it have any form of significance towards the character or the hospital? Will the character start out...

So it's our first life drawing session after coming back from Christmas break, and I still love it! Admittedly, I was a little rusty with my technique today, but I'm excited to get back into the swing of things. Bring on the projects!

Figure 1. ‘La Jetée Movie Poster' Chris Marker’s “ La Jetée ” (1962) is the sort of film where you would need to keep an open mind in order to understand the events happening and why. Only thirty minutes long, this film isn’t video recorded with moving images, but rather, it is a photo montage that portrays scenes and the being described by the narrator. The story is based around the concept of time and memory, and opens on a view of Paris. We are then taken to a pier, where we are then introduced to the main character whom the story focuses on. Although we do not discover the names of any of the characters, it is required that one makes a mental of the opening scene. As a child, the main character remembers viewing the pier, and running down the boardwalk, only to be greeted by a man dying. But what stood out to him the most was a woman’s startled face, her reaction to this man’s death, creating the most impressionable memory that will stay with him throughout his life....

Well,  it looks like we will be starting to animate certain models in Maya now, which is pretty exciting. So, to kick things off, here's my first completed tutorial of the term!