Final Project!

Just a quick post to update with a little concept art thing.

It's the golden city that our princess is native to. Leon came up with the idea of like little aqueducts as the main method of transportation within the city. For inspiration I thought of sand castles and sunsets, which is what sprung to mind when I thought of 'gold'.



Just 'painted' in good old Photoshop. Hooray for inspirational DVDs!

This week I volunteered to think up some concepts about hanging people and... gallows and things. Because this is part of my branching out and looking into topics and ideas I wouldn't ordinarily think about.

So the first thing I did was research! I found out about different kinds of gallows, like the traditional 'L' shape, the more fancy double upright model, and the deluxe Tyrburn, for your mass execution needs.
Also, apparently treason was the worst crime you could commit in the days of hanging. Like, above murder. If you spread rumours about the king, or betrayed the king, or were suspected of betraying the king; you were hung, drawn and quartered without trial (unless you were a lady, in which case you were burned at the stake). NICE. If you cut someone into pieces, no worries, you were just hung.

I read about the logistics of the gallows. Early on you would put your criminal on a cart and drive it away, or he or she would have to jump off a platform. Later introductions included a trapdoor, which I think is way more user friendly.

I drew a Tyrburn, but I also did a quick greyscale 'mood' piece.

This assignment is so much fun! I get to draw pretty things like princesses and also learn about how to make things a little more realistic and perhaps less... girly... from my teammates! Which is good, because while I love girly things, I do actually have a soft spot for things like zombies and werewolves and manly architecture.

Therefore I have dedicated a few moments to research some slightly more... I dunno - dark? Masculine? ...stuff.

Robots attacking stuff!
Dark and brooding weapon man
Swords (Middle Eastern)
More Swords (European hilts)
Roman helmet
This guy

Ok! So now to balance this entry - some princesses (yay!).


Leon has been doing some concept drawings of the princess's world as an elegant, majestic sort of place connected with aquaducts. The aquaducts provide an interesting visual but also a practical application for a culture that relies on fishing and utlilises boats as their primary form of transportation. Therefore I envision the princess travelling in a tiny boat through the narrow aquaducts. The design of the boat is inspired by Venetian gondolas, and the princess's costume is inspired by fish (fin-like hair decoration). There's also a little fishing line and hook on the back of the gondola. I made her hair red because it is later revealed that her brother is the red fox, so I thought I'd put in a subtle hint there.


Here I focussed on the silhouette and aimed for a stronger, more dominant princess. Her wardrobe is inspired by Egyptian garments.


Again, inspired by Egyptian/Greek clothing. But I tried a slightly more soft and younger look this time.


A more child-like face. Costume and jewellery less inspired by ancient civilisations.

I just love colour, and tone, and learning about it. I found the lecture fascinating. Usually before I begin drawing a picture I have a colour palette in mind... even when I draw in pencil.

When I drew this little guy:

I pretty much only thought about colour and the rest sort of came to me. I drew on like Mary Blair's blocky, goauchey style. But I really had this idea in my head of choosing colours that would breathe life into something mechanical. I thought of red indicating blood or passionate emotion... and this connection between human injury producing blood and mechanical 'injury' being rust.


Another (extremely bodgy, yet contrasting!) experimentation with colour was this:

Slightly depressing Jacaranda tree!

So after the lecture I gathered some images from films that I love, that have colour that communicates emotion really well.

(From Requiem for a Dream)


(From Kill Bill, Vol.1)


(From The Virgin Suicides)


(From Amelie)


(From The Last Unicorn)

Also, I can't mention colour at any point without bringing this up:
Go With the Flow!
I love this film clip for many reasons, colour being one of them. Kinda old by now, but I still love it.

I was reading a book at uni yesterday - it was Brian Froud's concept art for the Dark Crystal. I suddenly came to the realisation that I had a very beloved book as a child, also by Brian Froud - Goblins!

Look:


How:


Awesome:


And it got me thinking about all the picture books I had as a kid, and how it's probably influenced me hugely. I had so many Golden Books, and my favourites were the ones illustrated by Disney concept artist, Mary Blair:

Peter Pan!


Cinderella!


From a Golden Book!



Sorry, this update has been a bit off topic, but I find these kind of pictures inspiring!
Also super inspiring are the websites:
Cartoon Modern!
This Lady!
John K, of course!
My second home, dA!

I really enjoyed this, but I felt I could have come up with a bit more variety when it came to camera angles. I focussed on tone and tried to communicate a definite style through my final animatic. I learned a lot about timing as I was editing it, too.

Screencaps!