Lighting

Much like the camera, lights have to be created and animated throughout.  For my comp i used 2 directional lights to create shadows and intensity and 1 ambient light to raise over all luminance and finally added a number of effects during post production.   These effects create the color scheme of the backdrop and the stylistic appearance. 

Camera

For the final composition i had to animate a camera in After effects.  This is a simple process but can prove time consuming if not done properly at first.  Much like Maya you move the camera and key frame it's position.  These are a couple screenshots of camera direction and movement throughout. 

Film Logo

This is the film Logo done in Illustrator.  It is simply a live trace version of an original image i produced.  This logo is present on the DVD case, Booklet and burned using Light Scribe onto the DVD disc.

Film Poster

DVD Casing

This is the template for the DVD mailer.  The final version of the DVD case and DVD companion booklet are now CD size to ease printing costs.  With full color printing each Case and booklet will cost approximately £4.  The end result will give a professional finish to the project.   

DVD Booklet

I am producing the DVD casing and interior for the film.  I thought it a good idea to feature a small booklet with cast and crew information and a brief introduction of the film by Sal.  These are the templates i have created.  On the left hand side is personal information about each crew member, with they're name, date of birth, technical skills, web address, personal statement and input to the film.  I think this will work well as it can be used as a short CV for those watching the film opening up the prospect of possible employment. On the right hand side is a frame i created to house an image of that members favorite piece of work, whether it be concept or a screen grab.

  

Further Yin Yang

Another test animation with some textures in place and the decour set to overlay. Timing still needs a lot of work and the Yin Yang animation needs to be more imaginative. But alas, i need a more powerful computer to render it as my laptop cant handle it. I also need to track down a computer with CS4 as the file wont work in CS3 package..... so many problems, so little time.

Ying Yang Animation Test

This is a test animation of the Ying Yang image. Again done in AE and Photoshop it has the same grow effect to that of the tree. The timing and positioning still ned to be addressed but my laptop is having trouble handling all 80 layers.

Laptop catastrophy

Once a promising piece of equipment my previously beautiful macbook pro has now been reduced to a shuddering, drenched wreck that would put the Titanic to shame. Through sheer clumsyness I have now destroyed any form of mobility involved in the laptop and it is now only usuable with an external keyboard, screen and mouse. Essentially it has become a desktop... and a slow one at that.
I regret to say that last wednesday i reached for a pen and in a moment of pure terror sent a pint of water crashing over it. I worked momentarily until the water had properly been absorbed into the hardware and the end result was a 15minute silence in which i stared disbalievingly as my laptop attempted to do its own thing and open every file it could get its stubby electronic fingers on.

I am a fool.

Yin Yang Artwork

These are a few images of the Yin Yang for our animation.  Created in Photoshop each vine is on a separate layer.  The whole document consists of some 80 layers which will all be individually animated in AE to create a grow effect similar to that of the tree.  These are some tests to see how the image would work on textures and mirrored. 

Bird Flight test

This is a short test of my illustrated bird in flight and a developed flock animation. These were hand drawn then scanned in and animated in AE with coloring in Photoshop.

A little bit of color goes a long way

This is the same animation but thickened a bit with some time lapse footage and color. I like the effect the color has on the animation. It immediately brightens the piece and gives more depth.

More Textures

An example of some more textures i intend to use.

More Birds Birds Birds

Reference image of a birds flight. This will be helpful when animating.

Birds Birds Birds

illustration i adapted from a reference image found on the net.

Further Comp Developments

This is afurther development of the animation. I have been playing with camera depth and pre-composition techniques to create the flowers falling. These are all first tests which will then be adjusted and encourporated into the final film. More color will be added soon.

Ink Blot Intro

This is a possible establishing shot for the start of the animation. It was done entirely with after effects and photoshop to create the layers. It is achieved my simply animating layers in a 3D environment with depth of field turned on and lights placed to create the shadows. It was influenced by a video I saw on youtube that featured a similar effect. I was inspired by its simplicity and attempted to recreate it using my own techniques.

Blending the tree

tests to see how the tree reacts to blending with textures. Personally i like the overlay effect.

Tree Animation

This is the first stage of the tree animation which takes place at the start of the film. I achieved this by creating vector shapes in Illustrator using the pen tool. I then imported it to photoshop and seperated the 70 or so elements into seperate layers. I then went into after effects and used the Stroke effect on each layer individually and animated the path to give the illusion of a growing tree.
This is the first stage of the animation... i will later rework the timing and add more elements and animations to enhance it.

Bird Test

This is an early test i did to give an idea of what the hell i was talking about.

Texture Blends

This is a video example of how i intend to blend textures, colors and video footage to create the backdrop for the animations.

Anamatic

This is two thirds of the film's anamatic. Bart will be producing the final section. This is a basic representation of how the film will progress. Done in after effects, the final film will feature a much stronger depth to it and more improvised transitions.

Time lapse footage

Another element of the film will be the use of film footage blended into the back drop to create more depth.  Here is an example i produced in after effects of some time lapse clouds blended into a beige concrete texture. 

Textures

These are a selection of my favorite textures.  By the end of this project i intend to have a huge library of textures i can use, many taken from the internet and some taken myself.  I've imported them into Photoshop and used blending layers and gradients to adjust the over all image.  The concrete beige texture is the image intended for the background of the film. 

A Plan of action

As stated before our film has taken a dramatic change.  It is still based on the original poem but it has now been edited down and simplified.  The end result will be more of a moving image piece predominantly utilizing after effects.  It will still have a strong environmental message but will be less character based.

The film is broken down into 3 sections: A beginning, middle and end.  Myself taking the initial section, Sal the middle and Bart the final.  Each section will follow the narrative of the poem spoken over the animation.  Each section will tailer to our own directorial approach whilst incorporating a similar artistic style and flow to allow the final piece to work well as a whole. 

The section i have been working on will largely use after effects for texturing and animating growing vines and will feature a variety of illustration and 2D animation.  The thumbnails have been completed and a storyboard will be posted shortly explaining what i fully intend to do. 

The main elements within my section will be an animation of a tree growing, a 2D hand drawn animation of a cat to reinforce the idea of elegance and a variety of Bird animations and symbolism to reinforce the words of the poem.

Initially it may seem some what estranged from what the nature of the poem but i believe we can make it work beautifully if the effort and compromise is there.   If you have seen the recent Microsoft adverts which feature illustrative representation of dialogue you will understand what i mean.  I will post references soon. 

A bit of inspiration

This is an illustration i did over the holidays... during my flight to Hong Kong, Thailand and back again.  Thought i'd show what inspires me when im bored. Its done with ink pen and children's felt tip coloring pens.

A lack of commitment

After returning from the holidays it was made apparent that the models needed for the film had not been produced.  We had received the male character which we decided had not been modeled to our specifications and the end result was that of an evil creature rather than the beautiful sprite like character we had asked.  Sal and Bart did what they could to include the character and reworked the film to adapt but after much consideration and a discussion with Dan Dali we have decided it would not work to continue with our original film idea. 

We are all deeply disappointed with what has happened and this is the second time the models have not been properly made and as a result the film is now in jeopardy.  I would like to think that at this stage in our degree it would be beneficial to every one of the students to honor their agreements and do the job agreed but it seems some may be too involved with they're own plans to consider the repercussions of they're actions. 

After this all came to light i spent a sleepless night considering not the options of the team but those of my own.  As the film was now to be started from scratch i considered the option of doing my own thing.  Incorporating the same story and ideas but producing my own interpretation.  I contemplated this for the night and into the following day when i went and spoke to Dan Dali to get his insight.  We discussed what had happened and what our options may now be and decided the best option would be to split the film into 3 distinct sections each directed by one of us.  This would allow each of us directorial control on a section and speed the process up.  I believe this to be the best option... i am ashamed to say i considered breaking from the group.  Morally it would have been wrong and i know that we can produce a piece of work together of which we can be proud.  Bart and Sal are not just my work mates... they are my friends, and among the most talented i know.  We will finish this film... and it will be good. 

Tree Studies

Here are 3 tree drawings i produced during my research.   After studying tree formation i decided to conceptualize a few of my own.  for the 2 done in pen and ink i tried to give them almost a humanistic feel, thinking of them as characters rather than environment.  The pencil sketch was a study from a fantasy book about elves.  i loved the formation of vines.

Promotional materials

over the duration of the holidays i have been producing the promotional materials for the film.  This includes the DVD casing and posters.  The DVD is a 3 page fold out popular with many commercial products.  the center page holds the DVD in a clear jewel case stuck down to the page.  The remaining sides feature the title page, back and an extract from the poem.  On the inside of the case there is a sleeve which holds a promotional poster and a booklet featuring the cast and crew, poem, and production proccess involved.  Images will follow shortly...

Further Concepts

These are some concepts i have put together. These are ink drawings done by hand which i then scanned in, colored and adjusted in photoshop with textures and effects. The textures i used are concrete and watercolor marks. I found that these gave good depth to my work when the layers were adjusted to multiply and overlay.

Further Tree work

This is a quick color fill in version of the birthing tree done on photoshop.

Hans Bacher - environment reference

Hans Bacher has been a major influence on Disney films for nearly 20 years. These are a selection of concepts from his book Dream Worlds.  I found them extremely useful when planning my work as the mountain ranges are shown in such a simple way yet on such a big scale.  The use of color in these images has also influenced the way my work is progressing as i am now looking at color maps to aid my concepts.  

Environment Development

These are some concepts i've worked on.  

I've been using photoshop to play with different layers and manipulation to try and establish the color and style of the backdrops.

Tree Study

This is a collection of various studies i did of trees.  They are the development of the 'Birthing Tree' in which the Galuppis are born.  The flowers or buds attached are what the Galuppis spawn from. 

Visual Development

The environments for this project rely heavily on a natural approach. It will feature a fantastical forest with wide mountain scenes for the backdrop. For this i have been studying trees and the texture of them. these are a few reference pictures i took to capture the essence of what i aim to achieve and to further develop the 3D textures and 2D planes.

Sal Wilson

Sal is acting Director for this project. If you wish to read the poem or view the camera directions and animatic. Please visit his blog page via the link.

More preliminary research

This is another example of 2D planes composited to add depth. This is the BBC advertisement for the 2008 Beijing olympics. The mountains are drawn or painted then scanned in and touched up digitally. They are then composited in layers behind the animation. Effects are added such as cloud, rain and mist to give more atmosphere.

Research

These are some screen grabs from the Tale Of How by the Black Heart Gang.  This has been a big inspiration because of its use of layered planes to add scope and the amount of detail put into the illustrations.  Our animation will have a larger 3D element as the characters interact with a lot of the environment.  But i wish to add some of these elements to enhance or work.

Toccata of Galuppis - A Tale

This is a short animation piece based on the poem by Roderick Wilson.  The animation is being developed by his son Sal Wilson and adapted for the screen. The story is about a species of creature called Galuppis and they're struggle to survive with the ever increasing threat of deforestation.  It is a fantastical tale with an environmental message about the state in which we live and how we treat the beauty of our natural world.  The Galuppis have become a rare species over time and this is echoed in the poem and accompanied animation.  The idea is to produce a stunning visual aid to reinforce the complexity of the poem.

For this project i am working closely with a group of animators to produce the environments, textures and lighting for our piece.  The original inspiration for our work came from The Tale of How, an animation which incorporates 3D models with 2D planes and textures to create a stunning result.  The animation will feature a 3D foreground on which the characters react with hand drawn backdrops layered to create depth.  My work on this project will be heavily illustrated by hand and composited digitally with after effects to give a sense of scope to the environment.  This Term i will be focusing on the environments and textures to composite and i will later focus on the lighting of the piece.