3rd year snail: March 2016

Friday 25 March 2016

Major project 8

a little more about the technical aspects of the animation.
there are 3 distinctive styles taking place in my sequence, the first is the book itself, the motion of the pages as they turn, this will have to be done last due to the need of the first and last frames of the other animations to be manipulated in photoshop.
the second is the flash animation of the creatures in motion, and the third and final is the medieval style scenes.

there are so many ways I could animate the pages turning, a few effects in FX and after effects amongst others, rotoscoping film, using 3d models, but for the traditional look i want for the animation I will be using the good old fashioned frame by frame approach. i've chosen this way because I belive it gives me full control over every micro-detail of the animation, and although time consuming it is again, in my opinion, the most fitting way to get the feel I want from the final product.
that isnt to say I havent looked at the other ways of doing things, in fact some if the resources have been very helpful in planning out the frames.
a few noteworthy resources:

as to the animal flash motions, the greatest resource ive found is the gigantic reservoir of videos of them on youtube and streaming sites (david attenborough has played no small part in providing them). but also I found this wonderful database of animation tutorials, including many animals movements broken down and explained, this was of particular help for the Leviathan. pinterest boards are also great for getting a multitude of images of animals to study.

http://www.cloverdesain.com/art-design/how-to-draw-animals-dolphins-whales-and-porpoises/

another good gif of animal motion was this one:

for the medieval styled animated section I have been looking at old Diorama theaters like this one

this is because i'll be doing essentially the same process but in after effects and how their puppets are rigged. i've also been looking at retro computer games like mario and sonic because they use a technique called parallax scrolling to give the illusion of depth with the motion, this will be most useful with the animation of the sea in two of the pages.

for an animation about mythical creatures, ive sure learnt a hell of a lot about how real world animals move. reminds me of that saying about how everything in fantasy has its basis in reality.

Monday 21 March 2016

Major project 7

Finally got my new Winsor and Newton Inks so I can get to work on the traditional animated parts :)

finished the ornate lettering for each page, took a surprisingly long time, using a dip pen and detailed paint brushes and having to wait for them to dry

some people would say im crazy doing this in the traditional form and using the time costly techniques that they used on actual manuscripts. but hey, im all about authenticity and I want the finished animation to look like a genuine medieval beastary, with my own artistic flare thrown in.

doing this for the rest of the animations going to be a major source of aggravation and very time costly with the additional research and actual making, but you gotta do what you gotta do.

really starting to wish I didnt have that stumble at the beginning of the project that wasted so much time. still good practice for tight deadlines.

bonus test drawing using my older ink:

Tuesday 15 March 2016

professional practice 5

had a workshop on biographies and what/how to write them, here's what I came up with

''Well recognised in the field of Illustration, Lawrence Matthews grew up in the small town of Sidmouth in England. This was where he first discovered his passion and aptitude for drawing. Educated at the Exeter college of Art and Design, then later graduating from the Arts University Bournemouth, he showed a great amount of skill in illustration, later choosing to make a career out of his passion as a professional illustrator.

Personally identifying as a “Super Geek”. His love of pop culture, Japanese illustrations and Anime, works of science fiction and fantasy have obviously influenced his work.

The themes of his practice has helps him deal with personal experiences with past illness both mental and physical. these experiences have lead to his mantra of learning as much as he can. he has a great love of learning new skills and techniques and has always said that there is so much to learn and we get so little time to learn it. This varied approach in the way he creates and utilizes this diverse way of making, which is then refined depending of the brief.

Proficient in Photoshop, Illustrator, After Effects, Flash, Toon Boom, and all manner of traditional mediums, he has always credited caffeine as his greatest resource due to his nocturnal nature and somewhat vampire like feelings in regards to the sun.

His personal work gravitates towards character design and story boarding for his current self initiated project of picture book making, experimenting with graphic novel and manga styles.

His work personifies the juxtaposition between comedy and tragedy with his favorite subjects being dystopian in nature.

Most recently he has developed an interest in model making and casting, exploring how 3D can be used to present marketable illustration and design."

Also a first person statement:

""""

bonus drawing:

Friday 11 March 2016

Major project 6

update on how the project is going, got the rest of the initial designs sorted.

medieval

for the griffin I needed to figure out its anatomy in order to figure out how it would move, surprisingly difficult to join a lion and a falcon anatomically speaking.