NCI:503 Contextual studies 2
Storyboarding and character concept design essay evaluation

For this module we had to write an essay that was related to a specific topic that we were interested in and chosen to pursue for a future career.

For me I chose storyboarding and character concept design since I have produced multiple ideas from them before, along with creating backgrounds and personalities for each of the character’s.

To help fully structure the essay I used one of the college’s library example manuals to plan out the paragraphs and break down the topic step by step.

When I first began with the intro I described the evolution of cartoon character designs and the multiple styles such as water colouring that have greatly changed over the years ever since the 15^th century and beforehand.

I then listed down the numerous choices explaining where they originate from, how the techniques are preformed and how they are still used today for modern projects.

When it came to the argument section I explained the debate about when it comes to the artist wanting to make their work public and gaining positive feedback to continue it further, while it depends on clients and the targeted audience’s opinion. I then explored what the artist could do either change the characters design to meet the clients expectation or go and search for another client who would actually approve of their work and not overlook it unfairly.

As for the similarities section I researched many animated and live action films that if one looks closely there are multiple scenes that have the same styles, techniques or appearances. Even though I did look up artists and illustrators such as Don Bluth, Pixar and DreamWorks from the reading and reference list, I decided to go a little off track and look up examples that weren’t included on the list, finding results that would help describe my topic.

By looking at Disney classics such as Robin Hood, the Aristocats, the Jungle Book and the Sword and the Stone you can see that their specific scenes in the film that have been recycled to save time reanimating the whole scene, for example there’s Baloo the bear dancing with king Louie the orang-utan that was later reused for Little John dancing with Lady Clucky and there’s two dogs who leap on to Arthur licking him on the face, that was used again for when Mowgli was greeted by wolves.

Within the Walking with Dinosaurs TV series and Ice Age films the similarities between those two is that the production teams all researched their chosen characters that were all prehistoric and decided what habitat they would live in.

I then explained why it is really necessary for both a script and a storyboard is required for when it comes to producing a film even if it is a 3D animated one. With a descriptive script it allows you to visualize the characters, which will eventually lead you to break down the story into separate scenes so that you can fully illustrate a storyboard with detail. It also gives you a chance to check which scenes are not actually required for the animation.

Before finalizing a character design, you can go over your concepts again and see what areas need improving allowing you to decide when your character is finished.

As for the advantages and disadvantages I narrowed down what could be beneficial for the illustrator and what could be unsatisfying for them. With the advantages an illustrator can work with a team who have their own areas of talent, allowing one to tackle the challenge independently relieving them of time consumption. This also allows you to ask a co-worker for their opinion on your work to see if it is perfect the way it is or needs a little improvement.

Disadvantages on the other hand can be very harsh towards the artist such as having a very limited time schedule to complete a project that has been rushed and isn’t finalized, not having the required materials to produce the project, the expense of software and having their work unfairly chucked away.

I also added what advantages and disadvantages there are for me personally, such as being able to bring my own characters forward in a comic book series and trying to overcome the obstacle of working outside my comfort zone.

Along with the similarities section I also looked out for the differences in similar projects. I researched many TV series such as martin Mystery, Totally Spies and Avatar that all look like they were made as anime’s, but really they are anime-influenced that were produced in separate countries like America, France and Italy. Apart from them I also included the differences between Walking with Dinosaurs and the Ice Age films, for example even though they both have stories and based in the prehistoric times the ice age characters have distinct personalities and backstories unlike the dinosaurs who were just portrayed living life by instinct.

Then came the reflection and conclusion section where I reviewed the topic myself and explained how it is of great use for my own character development, along with comparing the agreements and disagreements for its use in todays advanced technology while concluding that is really important to include it in the developing stages of producing a film. 

Another important chapter that I elaborated on was who the targeted audience the idea is aimed at along with pointing out the age limits, different types of theme and multiple choices for a characters personality. I even researched where many iconic characters and vehicles originally came from such as doctor who’s Daleks were inspired by pepper pots, while the star wars spaceship the millennium falcon was influenced by a hamburger with two fries sticking out the front with an olive on the side.

For the last finishing touches I added a list of requirements for when comes to piecing together a script, storyboard and a character design such as the main plot, style and techniques. Along with that I personally wrote why I would prefer storyboarding compared to the more technical side of 3D animation, I even added the bibliographies and references of the artists I researched pointing out the ones that I found most appealing to look up.

Overall I found it quite challenging to piece together this essay breaking it down into separate sections and researching a topic that I am really interested in.

Twice weekly report

During these past two weeks I have been trying to put together this essay based on a topic that I am interested in which is a combination of storyboarding, character concept designs and script writing. Once again I have found this assignment quite challenging breaking down the paragraphs and piecing the correct words together for the arguments, differences, similarities and many more. To help structure the whole thing I used a college aid booklet from the library to easily tackle each step along with researching what is both different and similar in development for animated or live action productions.

Contextual studies 2

Storyboarding and character design Essay

Illustration in today’s modern day society has come a long way since 15^th century ranging in to many different forms of techniques and styles for example there’s watercolors, engraving, intaglio, linocutting, pen and ink illustration, sum-e and woodcutting. Even though these techniques are still used today, technical illustration is more highly favored since graphics in the software have become really popular with the community, transforming 2D characters and backgrounds into fully advanced 3D more life like versions of the originals, for example there’s been a few old characters ranging from the 20^th century such as Bugs Bunny and Scooby Doo that have been remodeled into more colorful 3D forms of themselves for todays viewers.

·      Water coloring is a technique in which the tones of bright colors can be used mainly for illustrating an outdoor environment or even a character such as J.R.R Tolkiens illustration of the main of the series the dark lord Sauron.

·       Engraving is a technique where you can create an illustration by using a flat surface of stone, copper or glass by using a chisel to produce the outline.

·       Intaglio is a process where the outline is placed on to a surface where the ink has been planted allowing the design to be imprinted on to paper.

·      Linocut is a similar technique to engraving but the difference is the cutter is dragged through the soft surface of linoleum to produce the design allowing the user to place ink on the surface and then attach paper on top to imprint the patterns.

·      Pen and ink is a highly favored technique used to produced fully detailed images of either characters or backgrounds for example there’s animals, insects, city interiors/exteriors, forests, seaside’s, jungle’s, ancient structures and people. This type of technique is mainly used for hand drawn sketches with a pencil as well allowing the illustrator to shade in the dark and light tones that could either represent night or day.

·      Sum-e is a similar technique like water coloring the difference is that the painter uses separate brushstrokes which can either be very light or very hard depending on the artists hold on the brush, along with adding certain amounts of ink to create light/dark tones. This style can be seen used in Chinese/Japanese tree paintings.  

·      Just like before with engraving and linocut, woodcutting is a similar printing press technique where the design has been fully embedded on to the surface of the wood and then rolled over in ink allowing the pattern to be imprinted on to paper.

It isn’t always easy proposing a new project that not everyone will approve of, there have been some good story plots that were suggested to many publishers over the years that have been unfairly thrown away, since they were not what the client or audience would want. This can lead the illustrator to either changing the theme of the story to an even better version or cause them to seek out another client who actually likes it and allow to work on it immediately.

Even though some ideas don’t always appear in the same way as the other, there are actually many similarities that can be found in them if one looks closely enough and recognizes them. For example if you look carefully at some previous Disney films such as Robin Hood, the Sword in the Stone, the Jungle Book and the Aristocats there have been many scenes that were recycled from the storyboard and used for a later time in the film.

Another similar example can be found by looking at the live action series of Walking with Dinosaurs and the CGI film series of Ice Age. Before Walking with Dinosaurs was fully animated BBC producer Tim Haines proposed the idea to the studio who at first didn’t believe it would work and only gave him a handful of equipment for him to work independently on his own. At first Haines studied which dinosaurs to feature and eventually began to break down the script on to a storyboard of how dinosaurs might of lived in a area that what of looked like a prehistoric habitat. This can obliviously been seen in Ice Age since the producers had to study and base their story on prehistoric beasts with specific personalities.   

While many people prefer animated films based off a story, illustrated books and comics are just as entertaining, since before making an actual film the story needs to be fully planned out and illustrated in a particular style with full detail that matches the theme of the story. By producing a storyboard from a script this helps break down the scenes of the story allowing the illustrator to narrow down which scenes are required and those that are not. This also allows them to have the time to design the characters with the correct style improving the appearances until there final form has been fully developed.

There are many advantages and disadvantages for when it comes to either designing a character or producing a storyboard. Like for example the illustrator has the chance to explore and find new styles combined with different techniques to create ideas that are both appealing to them and the community.

They would also get the chance to work together with a team of other talented members who through their help can make work and time less stressful once the idea has been broken down into different sections, so that everyone can tackle the challenge independently. While developing the work it is of great importance to ask someone of their opinion on their current design too see if its acceptable or needs more improvement e.g. the eyes need to be much bigger.  

As for the disadvantages there are those who would disagree with the illustrators design and possibly have them scrap the idea for a version they would prefer, leaving the illustrator disappointed that their own style isn’t being allowed to used for the public. Depending on the schedule, sometimes having a very short amount of time to produce an idea under very stressed pressure can become a large disadvantage when creating an idea, it causes you to rush and not fully check it over, leaving it in a semi developed unfinished form.

Another possible disadvantage that can cause delays with a project is that it depends on what styles that are going to be used and which materials are required to produce it. Some materials can be somewhat expensive even programs such as Cinema4D, Photoshop, Illustrator and Premier they have been known to cost over £100.00.

Personally what would be a huge advantage for me is if my own characters and stories were professionally published and received positive feedback, not only will it allow me to continue it as a franchise but also give me the chance to introduce new ideas along with looking for alternative ways of inspiration.

One disadvantage that I am currently trying to get through is working with styles that are outside my comfort zone. It is mainly comic book styles such as George Jeantys character likeness for Buffy the Vampire Slayer comics and Mark Bagleys designs for the ultimate Spiderman series that I am interested in that have heavily influencing my own characters. To overcome this obstacle I should try and make time for practicing with alternative techniques such as water coloring, Cinema4D, Premier, Clay modeling, tablet sketching and after effects.

Even though most ideas have similarities between them you can also find the differences in the design or story. For example there’s manga/anime-influenced cartoons that may look like their styles are produced in the same way as japan, but have a completely different tone woven in to the artwork such as Totally Spies, Martin Mystery, W.I.T.C.H, Avatar the Last Airbender/Legend of Korra, Godzilla and Super Robot Monkey Team Hyper Force Go. All of these characters have been designed in separate studios around the world such as America, France and Italy showing how inspiring other designs and styles can be to other illustrators. Like I was saying before with the Walking with Dinosaurs and Ice Age films, one of main differences between characters is that while the dinosaurs just acted as animals living out a regular day the ice age characters all have specific separate personalities such as Manny the mammoth being grouchy but caring, Sid the sloth being clumsy but loyal and Diego the Saber Tooth being sarcastic but not mean.

Personally I find storyboarding and character designing very interesting and fun to work with, not only does it allow me to explore new ways of finding a style that suits my personal characters that I wish to bring forward, but it also gives me a chance to look for inspiration to open up new ideas I could add to my scripts. Just like I was saying before trying to visualize a character/habitat from a descriptive text gives you a chance to produce concept designs that allows you to improve and develop the ideas more professionally.

Apart from myself there are others who would agree with me but then again there are those who would disagree preferring the more technical side with use of 3D enhancement since advanced graphics are more attractive then traditional technique.

I conclude that even though today’s public highly recommends the technical side I can see that they are both beneficial since by combining them together allows teams to take the necessary steps to build up their ideas to build up a masterpiece such as graphic novels, animated films, animated idents and 3D posters.

Before an idea is fully illustrated and published it needs to be fully judged and aimed at the correct audience it is intended for. There are the multiple age rates that many types of themes are produced for ranging from toddlers, children, pre-teens, teenagers, young adults and over the age of 18. With a younger audience most ideas are stylized in the form of colorful educational characters in all shapes and sizes in form of either anthromorphic animals, aliens, talking shapes, talking plants, monsters, talking vehicles or hybrids. These sorts can still be used for older audiences but are slightly changed so as to be more appealing to entertain those who prefer more action, love, mystery, violence, Sci-fi, supernatural and any other kinds, that have more of built up plot to them.

Besides the character designs and illustrating the story, one of the most important requirements for the character is developing their personality which can range from just about anything such as the good natured hero, the evil psychotic villain, a fashion diva, a snobbish businessmen, an innocent child, a deadpan office worker or even a cowardly yet loyal sidekick.

Creating and producing a new and original character takes a while to piece together finding the correct style, colors, personality and backstory. They can be imagined from 7 basic plots such as comedy, rebirth, rags to riches, tragedy, the quest, overcoming the monster and voyage and return. These stories can be traced back all the way through history that have adapted in to modern-day films such as Cinderella who changes from a being scullery maid to a princess, the Lion King where the young prince loses his father at a young age and feels responsible for it temporarily and there’s the land before time film where a group of five young dinosaur hatchlings band together on quest to find their new home and families. 

Most stories don’t always have to be related directly to the main theme they can be broken down to smaller similar plots and combined together such as overcoming the monster could mean the character could find the courage to stand up to a bully, voyage and return could mean the character could of just returned from holiday abroad or rebirth where the character could have been a selfish villain in the past but after experiencing companionship for the first time with someone has a change of heart for the better becoming a hero.

Along with the plots inspiration can come from all sorts of sources ranging from descriptive books, animated films, live action films, comic books, posters or even the simplest of objects. For example there are pepper pots, which are what created the Daleks from Doctor Who, and supposedly George Lucas imagined the millennium falcon after seeing a burger with two fries sticking out the front and an olive attached to the side.

Here is a list of the most important requirements of when it comes creating both a storyboard and a character.

·      Styles

·      Techniques

·      Inspiration

·      Colors

·      Backstory

·      Personality

·      Script

·      Concept designs

·      Backgrounds

·      Seven basic plots

I’ll admit it has been quite challenging to piece together this essay, finding the correct words that fit the descriptions of the topic, but I believe that I have written some good planned out paragraphs that are mostly related to character designing and storyboarding. With the help of the college’s how to booklet it has made things easier for me to break down the sections of the topic such as analyzing the elements, arguing why storyboarding/character design is really important in creating a book/film, comparing similarities in scenes, considering the advantages and disadvantages for myself and others who wish to publish their work, contrasting the differences in two different films and evaluating who the idea is aimed at.

Obviously since this is my choice I find storyboarding, script writing and character designing much easier than the more technical side of animation since I have found the multiple icons and steps difficult to remember such as animating a 3D character in cinema4D or using the tools in the after effects software to add new editions to the animation. Even though I looked at similar references on the reading, learning and resources list, I found others that were off the list that I found more appealing.

Bibliography

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1503324.Don_Bluth_s_Art_of_Storyboard

http://www.parkablogs.com/content/book-review-paper-dreams-art-and-artists-of-disney-storyboards

 http://www.parkablogs.com/content/book-review-exploring-character-design

http://www.aardman.com

http://www.dreamworksanimation.com

http://www.pixar.com/careers

Module: NCI547
Compositing evaluation

For this project we were asked to animate either a 2D or 3D object within a live action environment.

To help plan out how we could begin our animation we were reintroduced to the 7 basic story plots comedy, tragedy, overcoming the monster, rags to riches, the quest, voyage and return and rebirth. For me I chose comedy, voyage and return and rebirth as my main source of inspiration, spawning many ideas from the spider-diagrams that could be related to anything to do with the themes such as the life, death and resurrection of a phoenix. Eventually I settled on producing a monster rising from the water, the evolution of a velociraptor in to a modern day bird and a giant creature flying up the river.

We were then given a few CAAD sessions where we once again tried compositing shapes with different backgrounds resulting cubes in forests, cubes surrounding buildings and my personal favourite placing a large doughnut shape around Big Ben.
Then there was creating a floating ball in Photoshop that once animated could have been edited in After-effects which once again I had difficulty in operating.

Cubes in forests attempts

Box surrounding buildings

Big Ben Doughnut

Attempt at animating a ghost ball

Before I used a digital camera I walked around town with my phone to look out for areas that were related to my themes such as the Leases Park lake, boats around the river Tyne, the band-stand in Leases Park, snakes in the Hancock museum shedding their skin, a field of grass with trees in the distance, the Odeon cinema, the Theatre Royal and Central Station railway.

Leazes park lake

Boats on the river

Leazes park band-stand

Snakes in the Hancock museum

A field of grass with trees

Odeon cinema entrance

Theatre Royal entrance

Central station railway

As for my research I looked up eight examples that could have helped influence my work. Most of the advertisement’s featured stop motion techniques along with added effects such as 2D and 3D animation. Even though I found most of these examples very interesting I figured it would have taken too long to animate and rig a character in 3D so I settled with a simple 2D animation such as the Nickmad commercial. 

I was also introduced to new software known as Premier that could  be used to help change the colours to great affect on the background along with blending the animated object. On my first attempt I ended up transforming the entire background of the river Tyne into pure bright pink just to test out how the controls worked. 

Premier color experiment

After some searching around the quayside we were able to collect a mixture of photos to choose as a background such as the river Tyne, bridges, old platforms, arches underneath the bridge, an arch that lights up at night, a giant acorn made out of metal and a fungus infested area.

As for my final pieces I was only able to composite one voyage and return and one rebirth as my animations since I found it difficult in producing a character for my comedy theme. For my first animation I produced a giant octopus’s tentacles slowly rising from the river wrapping its limbs around the support beams and other surroundings. I was able to change the colour of the background a little, to make it look like the scene was taken as an ancient aging photograph; this was achieved through the use of Premier.

The kraken rises

As for my second animation I produced the evolution of a velociraptor in to a bird while using a grassy area around the Quayside as a background. I was hoping to use a sandy beach for the background instead, but since Newcastle doesn’t really have any beaches near by I settled with what I had, plus with a sandy environment it also helps represent how ancient evolution is and since prehistoric findings have been found in the sand over the years. To help structure the evolution cycle I sketched a frame-by-frame sequence that was influenced by an ostrich running cycle since they have the same leg length that is similar to a raptor’s.

For both pieces I didn’t bother going in to full detail and had them illustrated as simple 2D silhouettes slowly moving in the specific background. I did have plans to create a 3rd animation that involved a massive creature flying up the river Tyne that represented another voyage and return theme since many creatures how been know to migrate over great distances and eventually return home, sadly however I didn’t have time.

Overall I have found this project quite interesting and challenging learning how to composite an object with a live background and how to use Premier to experiment with colours. I believe I could have done much better with my projects by adding more detail and to plan extra time, I hope to improve on this for future projects.

 Twice weekly report

These past two weeks have been quite challenging with compositing an object within cinema4D. First off I have researched a total of eight animations that I particularly like due to their styles and colourful appearance. There were 6 2D animations involving metamorphoses and 2 3D stop motion animation portrayed by carved out models and combined with CGI effects.

As for the CAAD sessions I have been trying to independently produce 3D shapes either merged or surrounded by a nearby building. On my first attempt I have tried to make a 3D cube emerging from a building along with trying to animate it but had a little difficulty with it. However my second attempt has turned out more successful where I have been able to place a colourfully patterned donut around Big Ben.

Swot analysis

• Little bit rusty with using Cinema4D and After-effects to form and animate objects.
• 2D animation and metamorphosis still updated could be improved a little more.
• Newly introduced to the Premier software, need to experiment with it more in personal time.