A wellyboot of animated happenings

Photoshop adventures: As part of this project, we are asked to copy compositions of existing animation backgrounds. I saw a lot of my course-mates AMAZING photoshop skills and decided to give it a try! My approach has always been more hands-on when it comes to creating backgrounds, I'd draw and create textures then bring them on to photoshop to tie it all together. I've never done it entirely on photoshop so I thought this was a good time to attempt it. (attempt being the main word) I took a dramatic still from Beauty and the Beast, and below is a small section of the whole picture that I'm working on. As it's a screen-shot of a section, it's a lot easier to focus on the finer details, like the stars in the night sky etc. Overall my style has always been sketchy and loose, and the backgrounds for mainstream films rarely do that so I'm trying to be as precise as I can. Adding my own twist to these classic backgrounds is something I can'

(^Peter Mundy's drawing of a Samoyed he saw) Samoyed character redesign: On the right hand side you'll see my first attempt at a Samoyed character. I'm not too sure what I was thinking at the time, but sleep deprivation is probably to blame. The general feedback was that he didn't look like he was covered in fur or was warm at all, and I completely agree. Compared to my other two minor characters he just didn't fill the role enough. Using his basic figure as a frame to redesign, I made his beard subtler, his clothes fluffier, and most importantly, his colour scheme warmer . Samoyed people dress colourfully, can't be sure how I managed to overlook that at the beginning! He's probably feeling a lot more confident with his new appearance, I know I am. For the record, here are the final secondary characters:

2nd character design: Okay, I wasn't sure who to pair up with my showgirl. At first I thought, two! Two showgirls is the way forward. Then I thought that might seem like a cop-out because they'd basically have the same body. Also it's exciting but it's not AS exciting as I'd like. I then thought a young girl would be a good idea as the showgirl would beckon her on stage and they would dance together, the young girl would be doing the same moves as the showgirl but much clumsier, sleeves over her hands, teddybear in her arms etc etc. So I start doodling cute freckled little ladies, and realise that the idea of two girls dancing STILL might not be as exciting as I want.  After an intense google-image session I found an image of a young boy dressed in vintage clothes standing next to a dog.  Immediately I realised this was my chance to introduce an unsuspecting character.  Storyboards to come.

Showgirl character design: Okay, after a lot of deliberation I've decided to go for a showgirl theme for the dance sequence. Sooo much fun can be had with this, also I get to match it with electro-swing music which is modern and impossible not to move to. Safe to say I'm excited about this.  The character herself is very long-limbed and flexible. She's glamorous and classy, I promise. I've started using tracing paper to work on, layering up drawings is easy and the sketches have a real texture to them. I've never liked drawing straight onto computer programs, I guess it's because I feel it limits my style, and lets be honest, the life you can get out of a pencil can't be matched. With that in mind I'm keen to do this animation on paper, as it's a process I admire. That said I'll probably just do it on toon boom. It's a lot easier to control and I need the program practice anyway. 

Dance! I'm going to be honest- moving around gracefully is not my strong point. However, my initial fear of this task has faded and now I'm fascinated! After meeting up with a wonderful dancer, I've started to think about the choreography between my two animated characters.  A lot of the work I've done so far has been rushed and not anywhere near the standard I know I can do. (thanks time management, thanks a bunch) Alas as this will be the final piece of work on my showreel I reckon it's about time I did this task the amount of justice it deserves.  I'm drawing inspiration from Glen Keane, not sure if you've heard of him.  The way he accentuates limbs and defines muscles not only looks gorgeous, but also adds to the realism in the animation as you see all these parts of the body rotating and being put to use. Some of my favourite examples are below:

Penryn Folk After refining my original sketches (which, for the record, were way off style to begin with) I adapted my approach and made sure the eyes were not as round and far more in proportion. I actually really enjoyed coming up with these 6 Penryn characters! The colour scheme is gritty and representative of the age as well as being colourful.  I love the bearded character second in the line. His jacket's all torn and patchy, plus he looks pretty trust-worthy. The blonde-haired girl in the green dress standing next to him is also one of my favourites. She has a bizarre mix of hesitancy and adventure in her eyes that I find refreshing (I hope other people see this too) I think the way her arms are hung by her side gives her an proactive personality. I'm told the woman on the far right looks like she could bake a really good loaf of bread. Little tweaks have to be made here and there, but overall I'm proud of this line up. Watch out for that cheeky lil k