Thoughts on Group Work

I feel I am struggling with concept work and could defiantly do with some help. I will need someone to draw a higher quality version of my final storyboard as visulising different camera angles is not my strong point. The other way I could get round this would be to create a rough mock up in clay for each scene, but although this would greatly aid visualising, I unfortunately do not have the time.

I am confident with rigging, especially if I use Setup Machine, however I am not as confident modeling good riggable characters. I could therefore employ someone to check that my model's edge loops are in the right place to allow for movement.

As I plan to model all characters and scene in clay before modeling them in Maya I will import photographs on to the X and Y plains and use them as a template to model from. However, it would save a great deal of time if I had someone model objects from the photos for me. This will give me more time for animating later.

I will also need a voice actor for the sound of the boy screaming.

I hope to be employed by my class mates to animate, texture and model in clay.

Design Process

I find visualising difficult and therefore drawing without reference material is challenging. I prefer to create things with my hands so I will be doing much of the design work for this project using clay. This allows me to mold a lump into a design, rather than starting with a blank piece of paper where you can not see anything until you have already done it. Designing using a three dimensional medium makes a lot more sense to me. I found some great inspiration from the making of Ratatouille book.

Style 2

I am having difficulties incorporating the look and style into my film. I have features I am hoping to include and I know what I want to emphasise but I am having trouble working out how everything can fit together. I believe my problem is that I am trying to squeeze in too many different styles and I need to settle on one overall film style. I decided to look at tree textures on the Internet for some inspiration.

Animatic 2

I timed the latest version of my storyboard to see whether everything was working as I intended.

Storyboard 2b

This is an updated version of my second storyboard. I have improved the character acting, camera angles and simplified the story. I have considered the audience and tried to make my characters more appealing both in their actions and reactions. I hope this has brought more interest and empathy to my story. As I have not finished developing the storyboard I have called this number 2b as I intend to have finalised my camera angles by the third version.


Synopsis
The story is about a young boy and a goat. The boy’s just been let out of the house and he’s now outside, seeking adventure.

The Boy is carrying a stick and using it as a sword. He intends to playfully attack a nearby goat which he’s pestered many times before, but the boy falls over whilst trying. When he’s lying on the ground he sees that the goat is struggling to reach fruit off the tree it’s tethered to. So the boy picks some of the fruit and as he feeds it to the goat, he jumps on the goats back. In exchange for the fruit the goat gallops off with the boy, on a well worn path around the tree.

Style

I am interested in all animation types but particularly stop motion and cut out. I find these images appealing because of their strong use of textures, lighting and impressionistic backgrounds.