Colour Theory Lecture 2

This lecture focused on complimentary colours as well as colour which are not complimentary to one another. We were shown different examples of colour sequences, some of which were quite painful to look at! It was interesting to see how certain colours which we actually assume go together well, actually might not. It was also interesting to think about how these colours can be applied to our animations, and how the use of colour can represent a character or a surrounding.

Colour Theory Lecture 1

In this first lecture, we were reminded o the fact that the way we perceive colour is actually the way the light reflects and the way in which our eyes receive it. before the lecture we would have all made the obvious assumption that the sky was blue, however this made us think about the fact that this is just the way our eyes perceive the light. We see the colour by the light bouncing off an object and our brains receive all of these in different ways, making us see different colours, weather or not they are actually real.

Evaluation

This module has been really enjoyable but challenging at the same time, because I have had to step outside of my comfort zone. I am used to spending time on drawings and being quite a perfectionist, so it was interesting to be restricted on the amount of times I could spend on certain drawings, especially with the Form, Flow and Force brief. Im not used to being able to spend only 10 seconds on a drawings, so it definitely taught me to stop worrying about the little things. I know as an artist I look at my surrounding in a way which is possibly quite different to others, so when I was carrying out the Environmental brief, it was really satisfying to choose my locations and the particular aspects of the locations to draw. This was an opportunity to pay a bit more attention to detail. This module has enabled me to play around with media too, I have strayed away from just using pencil or pen on a regular basis. This is really helpful because it has made me want to experiment with different medias in more on my own personal drawings and animations. I have had the challenge of doing more observational drawing, weather it be a location of a person. When we had to draw one another in different poses, I found this really interesting because I don't do as much life drawing as I do character based drawing. Having to look at people in different ways and try to interoperate this in my own way on to paper was both challenging, but really fulfilling. I often assume I'm not very good at life drawing, but after this module I have realised that I can, especially when I don't over think it. 

The animations I have produced for this module have made me think in new ways. For example, animating sounds was actually quite difficult for me, because I struggled to visualise in my mind what the sounds would look like. In order to achieve this I had to produce different experimental drawings and listen to the sounds over and over again. Creating a turn around was something I had never done before, but I knew it would be a very important exercise. I think it is easy for people to forget how tricky it can be to create something so simple, this became apparent when I played by turn around back. Although I was pleased with it, it wasn't perfect. If I was to produce another, I would know what areas to pay more attention to, in order to make it look more consistent. The research side has been of particular interest to me, because I have been able to discover new animations which have inspired me, as well as talk about ones which I have known about for a long time.  It has also been a good opportunity for me to develop my own perusal drawings in my sketch book.

Sketchbook Development

In my sketchbook I have been keeping up with my own personal drawings. I design a lot of character and create a lot of drawings which are very exaggerated and not always anatomically in proportion, so it is important that I keep up the life drawing at the same because I find the observational drawing just as important as the drawings which come purely from my head. 

I have spent time observing people's facial features such as their lips, noses as well as their ears because these features in particular are ones which are unique to each person. I have just used pencil for these sketches because I found it gave me the best results when it came to shading, especially since these drawings are on a small scale. With the pair of legs I have drawn, I can see that they do look slightly out of proportion, however I am pleased with the shading I have used to highlight the muscle structure.

Through out my sketchbook I have tried to keep experimenting with different and new media. One of the new things I have started to use is Gouache. I enjoyed using this because it is a nice balance between acrylic and watercolour. These are the two kinds of paints I have the most experience with, so it was really satisfying to use something that seemed like a mixture of the two. I have always been somebody that loves using biro and fine liner to enhance my drawings, so I had a play about with different coloured liners to see how easily they could bleed out if painted over with water, because I really like the idea of using this technique more often. 

Some of my drawings are more character based and more abstract than others, so I have tried to use a mixture of different media to achieve different effects. Below are a few examples of some of my personal drawings. 

With these two drawings above I have used a mixture of watercolour, pencil crayon, biro and fine liner. I enjoy using this mixture, however I did alter the way in which I used them. In the first of the two, I created shading on the skin using quite fluid, smooth lines which I gradually faded out. However for the second, I used fine liner to create cross hatching in order to create shading. This was quite a risky one for me because I had never used this technique much before and I there was a risk of me spoiling this drawing I had spent a good while on! But I live on edge. I am really happy with these two results. 

I also tried to use more ink, one example of this is in the image above. I love the outcome of it because I think ink can sometimes create a more solid layer of colour than watercolour, which can become quite patchy.

Final Story Board

After going back over my first story board that I produced for the first critique session, I made a few alterations with some of the key frames and decided to replace remove some things and replace them with other ideas I have also had. This included, changing the two sections which show James's face unclose, to something else. The reason I did this was because, during then title sequence I don't want the characters to be introduced up close because I think it leaves an element of uncertainty which is what I want. I have tried to use a range if close ups and far away shots. The far away shots may be slightly distorted so that the dark figure shown isn't completely clear. I have chosen to use this range of camera shots because I don't want everything to be obvious and justified straight away, I want people who watch this title sequence to want to find out what the potential series would be like.

I have decided to stick with quite a dark colour scheme and keep it quite simples, but I would like to include use of shadow and lighting because I think the use of some contrast with the lighting will reinforce how dark the stories environment. I know that I want the credits to be hand drawn and not digital text, because I want them to have loo more accustomed and personal, because I think this would link in with the story line really well. 

Push and Pull

For the last sequence of movements, we had to focus on the motion of pushing and pulling. this was a really intriguing area to focus on because I think it is easy to forget how much our lower body needs to assist the upper body when it comes to moving heavy objects. I asked Amy to show a range of poses, some showing push and some showing pull. I particularly found the pose where she is holding onto the wardrobe door but pulling away from it really interesting because it is clear from the positioning of her legs how big of a part our legs play when applying force to an object whilst keeping balance. I also noticed how much the positioning of the back and shoulders is influenced depending on which way her bodily force is being applied. In the time provided I also tried to apply more shading, because there was a lot more variation of shadowing this time, because bigger alterations in her body language in each pose.

Posing

After producing a series of quick drawings based on movement and stretching, it was time to produce more but this time focused on still poses and pushing & pulling. I spent longer on these drawings so they have more detail. After drawing Amy with pencil, I went back over with fine liner to show the final lines. This was quite challenging at times because of the clothing she was wearing, her hoodie was quite baggy so I needed to try and draw in the folds and creases, I also tried to do the same in areas such as her ankles where her jean bunched up. I have tried to show drawings which show Amy from a range of angles so I could attempt to capture different aspects of her body, such as her shoulder and legs which change depending on her body language.

Moving Through a Space

I have produced another 4 pieces of work showing the different models using through the provided space in different ways. This was an interesting one because everybody was trying to avoid from the usual walking cycle, so as a result we had a variation of levels at which to draw each other from. These drawings are quite rough because we didn't spend long on each pose, so I focused on getting the important features down which made it clear what motion the body was going through. I was also trying to incorporate the clothes that everybody was wearing because i thought it was interesting to observe how changes in their clothes such as creasing, appear through out the motions.

Squash and Stretch

For this set of squash and stretch sequences that I have produced, as a group we decided it would be easier to arrange tables to that we were all sat around the outside and have the subject in the middle so everybody was looking in from different sides. We only spent 20 seconds on each figure, so they are quite rough, however after while it become easier. I used a range of charcoal and chalks for these because I was working on quite a large scale and I find these kinds of media enjoyable to work with on a bigger scale because  they are much softer and I wanted to avoid making it all look too sketchy. As the models changed, I began to draw each figure closer together, this wasn't entirely intentional but I liked the result because it made each movement add to the overlapping sequence that the model was moving through. It was also quite challenging because as  group we all varied in heights and body shapes, so it was really interesting to create some observational work from this. 

Shooting a Pistol - Ryan Woodward

Although this animation is very short, I think it is a really good visual example of how the human body can bounce back from force. It shows in greater detail how somebody reacts physically when they fire a gun which I think is really interesting. When the first man fires the gun, he keeps his arms straight, so the back lash is sent o his wrists causing his hands to lift up quickly. Also at the same time  his shoulders snap back, as well as this his eyes shut and his face scrunches up momentarily which would also be a result of the loud noise. When the woman fires the gun, the same reaction take place however this time there is a lot more exaggeration with her hair which has a delayed reaction before it moves as a reaction to her head and body moving back suddenly. Also, her face is braced in anticipation before she even pulls the trigger which shows she the fact that she is preparing her body for the sudden motion that will be taking place. Also unlike the man shooting, the woman's back arches backwards much more which links to the fact that she has a much smaller frame so therefore her body may react slightly differently. I think this animation is a real useful example of showing a slowed down version of the quick reactions our bodies can go through.

Thought of You - Ryan Woodward

As somebody who has always loved to dance and has a real interest in watching it too, I find this animation really satisfying to watch because of its fluidity. At the beginning when the man sits up slowly, the point of focus where he is pulling himself up from is his chest. This is drawn so well because of the arch that is created in his back as he lifts up, which shows how well this artist has observed the necessary stages the body has to move through in order to get to this point. Also, about 43 seconds in when the male dancer lifts the woman over his back, he takes a step into. He is clearly putting a lot of energy and anticipation into this motion, this is shown clearly due to the speed at which he steps forward. This is a realistic representation of the anatomical process that the human body would have to go through in order to sustain the weight of another person on their back. At 56 seconds, he quickly moves from being crouched down towards the floor to suddenly stretching upwards. Although this seems like a very quick motion when it is watched in real time, each frame in between shows the gradual alteration his body makes from squash to stretch. Through out this animation, different aspects keep becoming apparent to me which make it run so smoothly, such as the fact that the drawings of the figures are still quid rough and that some of the reference ones have been left in, the incorporation of muscle enhancement. Also the use of secondary actions through out, such as the flowing of the woman's skirt and hair, this really shows the flow of the movements she is going through.

Duet - Glen Keane

I have chosen to use research this animation because it centres around movement of the body and has clearly been derived from observations from life. The movement of the bodies is so fluid, its so realistic because each frame has been drawn in perfect sequence and the bodily features and such as the muscle lines and the proportions are all really well interpreted. Specific parts such as the two babies at the start who crawl across the floor, this is so well made because the stretch elements of this are shown clearly. Also the stretching and pulling motions when the boy is climbing the tree allow the whole motion of the sequence to look believable. One particular part which stood out for me, is when the young girl who has grown into a woman becomes a ballerina. When she leaps through the air, the extension of her legs and the pointing of her feet are spot on. The attention payed to the shape of the muscles in her legs give the impression of how strong they are. As she moves trough the air, her legs continue to stretch and extend, they don't stay at the same level. This is a realistic representation of the way a ballet dancer moves, because they are able to move their bodies in ways that doesn't come naturally unless somebody is trained. I think this animation does a fantastic job at showing the human body moving through spaces in a realistic and observational way.

Turn Around!

For this brief, we were given the task of creating a 12 frame turnaround of any interesting object of our choice. The purpose behind this became clear to me whilst drawing it, it made me think a lot about the consistency of the drawing through out and making something look fluid.

I decided to draw this guy because to be honest a lot of the characters and drawings I create, are deliberately quite unrealistic when it comes to their anatomy, so I thought this would get me used to drawing more realistically too, since that is the purpose of this object. I decided to use traditional animation for this, because I feel that is one of my strengths and I wanted to make this as fluid as possible. 

Over all I was pleased with this, considering I have never done a turn around before, however there are a few small details such as the chest and one of the hands which alter part way through. This did however get me thinking about paying more attention to small details, especially the ones which I don't always pick up on straight away when I have been drawing frame after frame. However this was really enjoyable and a really useful exercise! 

Model Making

We have recently started out model making workshop which has been really interesting and enjoyable especially side I am interested in creating armatures for stop motion and how it all works in general. Our aim was to create our armature and then model which would then be cast in plaster so this could then be filled with foam.

After creating the wire armatures, we used millie put to create a base of the basic body shape, which we then covered in take, ready to cover in plasticine.

I left holes for eyes to be put in, which ad a hole pierced through. This is done so that they eyes of the model can be moved around if it is to be animated. I found the process of modelling really enjoyable, however I am very used to using clay, so it was new to me, however it was really good to be able to get used to using a new media, especially since I will have to use it again in the near future!

Once the model was complete, I cut around its shape into stoneware clay so I was able to lye it half and half in the clay,. I created 4 walls around it and ensured there were no gaps so that the plaster would not seep though. Once the plaster had been poured in, it took about 30 minuets for it to harden.

Once this was done, it needed flipping over in order to cast the other side too. The second time round was quicker and easier because I knew more of what to expect and how exactly to go about it. There were some difficulty when it came to pulling the model back out of the plaster, because ti oiled away some of the plasticine, however this was easily rectified. A way to have avoided this would have been to make the model slightly smoother, that way there would be less ridges for the plaster to latch onto.











Foam Time!

Before pouring the foam mixture into the moulds, we needed to brush the insides of the moulds with a soapy mixture which would prevent the mixture from sticking to the plaster. The mixture itself had to be mixed and poured in quite quickly.  Once it was poured in, all we had to do was move it around evenly and then leave t for about half an hour before peeling it out SLOWLY.

Second Mood board

After carrying out a lot of research of live action characters which have been used in series and films, I thought it was important to look at some of the animated characters which have been used in less pleasant way. Not all of these characters are intended to be terrifying, however I have an interest in how creepy, animated characters are designed and how this effects the way people feel towards them.

House research

After gaining an idea in my head about what the main story environment (the house) will look like, I carried out some research to give an idea of the type of look I want to create in the the shots which will be showing snippets of the house. The house is described as a mansion in the book, and the stairs are depicted as being very long. The house consists of many rooms so I imagined that the hallways would be very long.

This particular image above gives a very accurate view of the way I want the hallway to look as the camera moves down it. I want the light to be seeping in from the opposite end, giving the impression that the inside of the house is full of things such as bad memories and emotions. Also, this use of lighting is something I will be able to produce quite effectively weather it is on Photoshop or on paper. 

Aspects to Consider

After producing my first storyboard, and deciding what form of entertainment it will be for (TV Series) I have put some further thought into some of the areas I need to change or develop on in order to help me create a final storyboard and animatic.

Character Design:

Even though I put some thought into what the main characters could potentially look like, I have come to a decision that I won't be having any closeups of characters' faces through out the sequence. This is because in my personal experience I have found certain title sequences, such as Penny Dreadful and American Horror Story to be some of the most memorable because they haven't gone too over the top when it comes to introducing the characters during the actual opening sequence. I like the element of mystery it leaves, it made me more eager to watch. Also, I think including the characters as shadows and silhouettes will put across the eeriness of the story. Making certain elements of the story too familiar too soon will take away the mystery of it.

I am not yet 100% sure of the bodily shapes of the figures that will be included. I have yet to decide weather to make them anatomically realistic, have them slightly more slender and extended. Either way, I know they will be blurry and slightly out of focus.

Audio

I have decided I would like to take some of the most relevant parts of the book and use them to create different sound clips that I want to play through out. I know I don't want a music track on its own, because I think that is quite a common feature in title sequences and I want to go for something a bit different. These are a range of different sounds I have the idea of including:

• Phone ringing (possibly "hello?")
• Static (near and distant)
• Woman crying (distant)
• Dripping of water (distant and echoed)

I havent ruled out the possibility of music, I may have quite a simple track playing in the background, something that wont over power the rest of the sounds. I will obviously need to do a bit of playing around with this when it comes to it, but I think it is something I will really enjoy!

Camera Angles

I want to use a range of camera angles, some from below to give the viewer a sense of vulnerability, some closeups because I don't want everything to be clear and I think it will make it more intimidating on the whole. When characters are shown, they will be far out shots, so they aren't too overly detailed, because I don't want the attention to be on the visual appearance of the characters in this sequence. Also, I think having them as just distant, unclear figures will create more mystery. I know from personal experience that it makes people want to keep watching. Some of the shots used will be made to look as though they are coming from the view of a person who is walking through the house. I love this idea because it will make people question who it is walking around and weather or not they are supposed to be in the house. Basically, I want to make people feel uneasy when they watch and listen to it.

Lighting 

I want the lightning to generally be quite dark, however not to the point where it is too cliche. I want to include enough light so that I can incorporate shadow and reflection effectively. Also, enough light so that the silhouettes are distinguishable, and so that certain features of the house such as pictures on the wall, can be appreciated. I may have one or two colours as the main theme, for example I currently have the idea of having the background as a musty grey and then the actually drawing lines in a black or a darker grey. Enough contrast so that everything is visible.

Possibility of Live Action 

I have thought about the idea of using some Rotoscoping in order to capture the movement of the human body, because I think this may make some parts, for example the part where I have shown a man and a woman figure dancing together, more realistic. Even if I only use it as reference, it will still be a very good idea to  do some live action recording so that the movement of these figures is as realistic as possible!

Dripping

I have had the thought of possibly recording dark paint being drop pen into water, if I were to do this I think it would use it in black and white and possibly have it on a separate layer in Photoshop so that it can be faded slightly, so it is only visible in the background. I have decided this because there is a scene in the book where one of the characters becomes unexpectedly ill in the shower and falls and cracks her head, and nobody knows why. Also, I have the idea of it being in black and white, or in grey, because I think the use of bright red blood will seem too extreme too early on. I don't want to switch people off by being too over the top. 

Development towards first Story board

In order to get an idea of what I wanted to cate for this title sequence, I began by deciding that it was going to be for a series and not a stand alone film. This was mainly because I have been inspired by a lot of sequences for TV series, and I think I can represent certain aspects of the story in this way. If it was for a film, I would be more restricted.

I had so many ideas in my head for what to include, so I thought it would be wise to list the main parts of the story that I wanted to include. I also made a list of audio clips I had the ideas of using, having a clearer idea of the possible audio made it easier for me to pick out specific imagery in my mind. I then listed in order the key frames I wanted to include so I could then go ahead and put my first idea of a story board together. (I was already aware this wouldn't be the first!)

First Storyboard

Through out the sequence, I want it to keep snapping back to constant movement from the house, as if it coming from the eyes of somebody else. That is why there is constant movement through the hallway, down the stairs, and through the garden. The titles included through out this sequence will be dotted about, not shown on their own, because I want to constantly be building the environment of the story in the viewers' minds. I have included a range of camera angles, for example the frame where the 2 painting are on the wall, I like the idea of that being seen from slightly below, because it gives a sense of authority to the paintings and gives them an element of intimidation even though they are just paintings. Also, I have included a closeup of the body bag being zipped up, because I like the idea of people having to think about what they are seeing, I don't want everything to be clear at a first glance. 

After presenting this to the class, and after further thought I know I will need to produce a more detailed, altered version of this story board, along with an animatic to show how long each section will last for. 

Thoughts about character design

There are three main characters in the book. James, who is the man who is now living alone in this mansion after the sudden, abrupt death of his wife Stacey 12 months earlier. Stacey is not a character who has much dialog through out the story, because she is usually referred to in the past tense (James talks a lot through out the story about her, including personality and appearance) Annette is a woman who moves in next door to James just as the 12 month mark of Stacey's death is approaching. She forms a relationship with James, but she clearly has some issues and is quite a vulnerable character in some ways. After thinking about descriptions that were given in the book, mixed with my own interpretation I have put some thought into which actors might star in these roles. 

Jake Gyllenhaal - as James Hastings

In the book, James is a stand in double for the musician, "Ghost" however after the death of his wife he talks about how he lets his hair and beard grow back and gets his tattoos removed. He struck me as a character who has ended up looking quite rough, but not necessarily in a negative way. Stacey and James were both in their early 30's, so I imagined him as looking slightly aged but not to the point where he looks "old". It needed to be obvious that he is still quite young. I chose Jake Gyllenhaal as the possible actor in the titles for the main role, because he looks very similar to the character I created in my head after getting more familiarised a few chapters into the book. The title sequence itself wont be showing a lot of his face, however I have something to go off as reference for the frame he is visible in. 

Lily Rabe - as Stacey 

Stacey is described by James as being blonde, beautiful and quite curvy. After having recently seen Lily Rabe in another series her image came to my head straight away. (Stacey's character wont be seen up close in the title sequence so I don't need to think too much about this, however I still wanted to put some thought into it)

Rose Byrne - as Annette

Annette is described in the book as looking slightly similar to Stacey, however she is described as having a different face structure and a different skin tone. I think Rose Byrne would fit this role well. Again she isn't visible during the titles, however I wanted totally about this because I had her face in my head all through out the book and thought it would be useful to mention. 

Further research for inspiration

Penny Dreadful

I have added this title sequence from "Penny Dreadful" because I think it is very beautifully done and reflects the darkness of the show in a really effective way. There is a particular use of closeups through out which makes it more surreal and the use of lighting is spot on, because it isn't so dark that it takes the detail away. Also, I love the audio because it is very melancholy but dramatic at the same time. The whole sequence as a whole gives off the sense of mystery. Camera angels and the use of slow motion are a massive contributor in this sequence and I really like the idea of including some of these similar aspects into my own. 

Coraline

The opening titles for Coraline begins off being rather normal but then it gradually gets more and more strange. I thought it would be important to look at some examples of different methods of animation. This is a really good example of stop motion being used in quite a creepy way, this film is an important one to me because it is a reminder that stop motion can be turned into something scary if done right! Again there are some really effective examples of closeups in this sequence an they really 

trigger questions in the viewers' minds. 

Corpse Bride

The opening titles for Tim Burton's "Corpse Bride" looks very similar to the type of idea I have got in my head about how my sequence could look. I like the idea of having one main colour as the theme and having the actual line work to all be in another colour - I don't want it to be too much for the eyes colour wise because each key frame part of the sequence will only be showing for a few seconds. Also I think this will be a case of "less is more" because I think if I went overboard with colour it will take away the darkness that I want to reflect. This title sequence for the Corpse Bride is also brilliant because it hasn't gone to over the top with the audio. The music used is beautiful but also quite mysterious and eerie at the same time. 

Interim Critique Feedback

For this crit I put together I put together my presentation which included my chosen idea, and the research I have carried out so far for inspiration, as well as my first rough story board and animatic. I discussed my possible ideas when it came to certain aspects such as audio, lighting and method of animation. I have not yet come to a final decision on what type of animation I will be using, I may use a mixture. I think this is a decision I will be able to make once I have completed my next storyboard, which will be in more detail.

Areas Discussed

During my presentation I was given some really helpful suggestions, such as certain other specific title sequences I could refer to, so I will give these a look. We also came to the agreement that I ned to continue with the development of my story boarding because this will help me make the decisions about audio and method of animation. I will need to do a bit of experimentation too in order to get an idea of what could look good.