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Monday 30 November 2015

@Simon Maya Tree Branches Help Please

Since starting work on the branches for the main tree model I feel like the branches are to flimsy and don`t look that much like branches. Is there a way to make the branches look more realistic and like they are flowing with the tree rather than stuck into it?

Maya Tutorial : Lighting + Rendering




Saturday 28 November 2015

Personal Work : Bruce Forsyth Portrait


What If ! Metropolis : Church Details


*UPDATED*



What If! Metropolis : Church + Tree WIP (Maya)


What If Metropolis : Building 2 WIP


This building has proven slightly easier than the first one where I`m finding it easier to lay things out on the object. However, I have also had to make some design decisions in terms of the buildings and I`m going to make two seperate versions of this building to see which would look better. Or , I can include both. These design decisions will include the base , whether there are two stands or one. 

Friday 27 November 2015

Maya Tutorials : Alley Way Scene


Character & Animation : Life Drawing Animation WIP

 
 
 
 
This was my first attempt at my life drawing animation , at first I struggled to imagine the movement and I feel as if I have continued to struggle. I had an idea in my head that I wanted her movements to involve fire within her movement and I tried to replicate that. I also think I need to research more into her poses to try and make her body more proportionate. I will continue to work into this over the week and try and refine this , if not I can see myself starting anew and going into the new animation with a better idea of what I want to accomplish.

Thursday 26 November 2015

What If! Metropolis : Texture Experiments + Modelling Experiment



Transferring my designs into Maya was a task and a half , I realized that just an outline for my orthographs made seeing details difficult and so I blocked them out with black and white to help my modelling. So far my building is a basic shape which I wanted to experiment with , using different techniques to try and get the shape I want. So far I`m happy with the base cone like shape and I plan to develop the hooks at the sides to give them more of an upturned shape. I`m also going to ask for help with the vines as I`m struggling to get the effect of the vines wrapping round the building. 

If anyone can give me suggestions on how to achieve that I`d be grateful :)

Tuesday 24 November 2015

Space Oddities : Black Narcissus (1947)




Michael Powell`s Black Narcissus (1947) is a spectacularly made classic , where the use of matte paintings transform the landscape from a British landscape into a convincing view of the Himalayas. At first Black Narcissus seems to be a charming tale with dark humor , where the themes of corruption seem to empower the nuns in this film .With sexual hints provided throughout the film; such as their sanctuary of god previously being a brothel , the audience can tell immediately how this film is about ones duty against their desires. 

Despite the hints within the set design , what sells the temptation and hellish lust within the plot is the lighting. Where the beginning of the play starts off with natural lighting along with a peaceful atmosphere , as the film continues lighting gets more dramatic and brings more depth to the scenes , with intense shadows and harsh red lighting the scenes almost seem theatrical. The red hues used for lighting also help push the idea of the devil because red is most assossiated with danger , sex and the devil. 

“Kehr suggests that "Black Narcissus" should be taken with the historical context of Britain bidding farewell to their fading empire, and indeed that is an interesting point of view.” – Ebert (2010) In historical context this could be true . Where the nuns wave goodbye to their faith and become something new. Where they go through the demons , which in Britains case is a war and sometime succumb to them ,however, by the end they end up triumphant. Although , in Black Narcissus case the triumph could be that they leave their faith and in turn learn to love and step out of their comfort. However, one can argue that the demons are still there through experience and how the experience has affected how one views the world.although , that could be said about the Empire as well. 

“But I like to view it as a film ahead of its time, daring enough to look puritanical figures that are in truth as frail as anyone; confronting their demons and the burdens of reality. It has all of the three central conflicts every story should have, man against the world, man against man, and man against himself.” – Ebert (2010)


Following how this film conveys the theme of possession and danger, along with the theatrical lighting; the costume design also sets the role of the characters very well, where one is the villain the other the hero is concerned. Especially during the scene where Sister Ruth and Sister Clodagh sit at the table and have a face off during the night. The audience can clearly see where Clodagh is clad in white and Ruth is dressed up in a scantily red dress, darkened brunette hair and painted red lips. The close up when she paints her lips also gives the audience a sense of seduction and sexiness, especially when the colour red is used, this again is because of colour theory where red is associated with sex and lust. Also the reddish hue around her eyes gives Ruth an exhausted look and along with the performance Kathleen Byron gave where Ruth always looks in a crazed daze and like she is plotting your murder, the pair together give off a demonic aura.

Bibliography :

Fig 1 ,(1947) [Screengrab] (Accessed 23/11/15) : http://www.jigsawlounge.co.uk/film/reviews/crninarcis/

Ebert,R (2010) Black Narcissus : http://www.rogerebert.com/far-flung-correspondents/black-narcissus-which-electrified-scorsese




Saturday 21 November 2015

Animation & Character : Bouncing Fox Army


What if Metropolis : Post OGR : Production Art 2.0 Update




Taking the advice from Phil , I spread out my production art through 3 pages to try and separate the buildings up into categories. Where the first page is the upper class and taller buildings , the second is the lower class and the buildings closest to the ground and the third page is any non architecture aspects of the city such as lighting. In future projects I will start work on a more fanciful design aspect towards presentation,however, for this project I want the content to be clear to my viewer and I am taking baby steps towards making design decisions. 

What If Metropolis : Post OGR Updated Production Art




Wednesday 18 November 2015

Space Oddities : Edward Scissorhands Film Review




One of Tim Burton’s earliest and most successful films, Edward Scissorhands is a Beauty and the Beast modernized film where the main character Edward falls in love with Kim; the daughter of the family who he is staying with. The Beauty and the Beast plot takes a darker turn which causes the audience to realize that despite ones appearance those who may seem completely normal may be the monsters. Unfortunately for Edward, the monsters swarm and the film turns to a sad ending which tears the hearts out from the audience. 

The film takes place in a capitalist world where a Gothic mansion sits upon a hill towering over a sweet colourful town. Immediately Burton plays with the audiences mind believing that the danger is on that hill, where the audience screams to not go in to one of the main characters: Peg. Because of the horror cliché that darkness is related to evil, immediately there is the thought that whatever lives within the house is going to kill her. Slowly the thought drifts away as the gardens within the area reveal beautiful trimmings of plants, not of destructive figures, but animals and figures which fight against the overpowering doom impending house which is accompanying the garden. 

The colours and set design also tell the audience about the characters themselves. Where although those inside the town are the same, which implies they are the `norm` and not being entirely unique. There is also a hint as the film continues that the colourful embracing town where everyone is a bright colour of some sort means that they are all monsters. Despite the darkness, Edward is hinted to be rather monotone in colour scheme and personality. Where the first is shown of him is black and white and Peg who is the hint of colour enters the household and brings a meaning and spark of ‘joy’ into his life. (The Joy being represented by her brightly clothed appearance). Also throughout the film , hints of skin colour show through the paleness which shows the more time he spends with the family and in the town the more human and ‘normal’ he gets : and also the more monstrous. 

Roger Ebert states that the ending could have been more successful where he says: “Then Burton and his writer,Caroline Thomson, go on autopilot and paste in a standard Hollywood ending.” Ebert, 1990. With a film as unique as Edward Scissorhands, the ending was fairy tale like, however, when comparing this film to one such as Beauty and the Beast there is a sense that the audience knows he is going to receive the love of the girl. Which can be quite heartfelt, however, the quick change of pace at the end felt rushed where maybe Burton wanted the grief to be quick and the entrance to Edwards dark domain and away from the colour clone world gave them hearts and brains to realize that their actions ended with two deaths. One being a neighbourhood bully, the other being an innocent who didn`t understand their ways.


Overall Edward Scissorhands was a beautifully crafted film where the set & character design was thought out well to the point of deceiving the norm. Despite the plot holes, Burton could have added more to the ending instead of leaving the audience to recover from the terrible fact that the couple were torn apart. For some this may be a turn off because the charm seems ripped apart from this film where the whimsical comedy relief in the film gets reduced to murder. Yet some also think the logic of the ending tears away from the character of Edward, for example “I'm sure that after a couple decades or so, the town's lynch-mob mentality would wear off, and Edward would be able to return if he wanted to.” Zanzie, 2015. This could also go with how time develops and how the arrogant nature of the towns folk where they have lots of money because of the war wears off. When money troubles erupt and they come down to Earth and become more rounded people who are more understanding of people’s problems. Zanzie also continues with “He has been established in previous scenes as a sad and lonely creature who values friendship and a family, so to assume that he'd spend eternity up in that castle, alone, carving his ice sculptures without a care in the world, is absurd.” Zanzie,2015. Proving the statement of how people perceive the ending of this films logic as out of place and lacklustre.


Bibliography :


Ebert,R(1990)Edward Scissorhands : http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/edward-scissorhands-1990


Zanzie,A(2015) Edward Scissorhands (Comments section) : http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/edward-scissorhands-1990


Fig 1, An Image of Edward and His Love Interest (2001) [Poster] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Edwardscissorhandsposter.JPG

What If ! Metropolis : OGR Part 2

Character & Animation WIP : Bouncing Dog


What If ! Metropolis : Updated Concept Art + Tree Building Thumbnails



After receiving some feedback I`ve followed what advice was given and turned the central tree into a building to give the city some form of populace , I feel as if this has helped break up the city and look more alive. I also added some lanterns to give some light to the city and give the city some aesthetics. Although small I fear the detail will go unnoticed as I wanted the light to be quite theatrical which overpowers the detail.

Tuesday 17 November 2015

What If ! Metropolis : Final Concept Art + Progress GIF (Feedback Please!)







What if!Metropolis : Colour Comps Update (Added Buildings)




A quick update here . I feel as if the addition of more buildings has helped give the concept art more depth as I feel like instead of buildings simply being in the background this gives the sense that the buildings are surrounding the tree too. However, one thing I have noticed here is that there is one central building that is coloured which looks strange. I will post an update here as I will try replacing that building with a black one and see what it looks like. Although I`m slightly worried it may make the buildings seem out of place being black with the colourful background.


What if Metropolis : Updated Concept Colour Comps


After taking the advice given , I revamped my city by adding more of a  variety of buildings . I did this by using the silhouettes I made and this time using a variety instead of just one building repeated. I also wanted to try out different colours because I felt the sunset colour scheme could be to theatrical ,whereas the green/pinks look more mellowed out . To develop this I will add more buildings into the foreground as despite my city not being an overpopulated one I feel as if there are not enough buildings to look like a city yet.

What If!Metropolis : Orthographic Drawings


What If!Metropolis : Colour Comps






I started by putting together collages and using a gradient map to experiment with colour.My main focus for 4,5 & 6 was to experiment with colour schemes and contrasting colours to see what would work. My aim through this was to create a whimsical passive atmosphere and the colours I felt achieved that were 4 & 6. I then started going into painting and I felt like I could be more free here as it added to the atmospheric look. I struggled with the perspective a little bit which is why I`m going to experiment by building a simple set into Maya then painting over and see how it goes,however, I felt the most successful composition wise were 2 and 3 as well as I like the textures that I used with the brush to create a wooden grainy look to make the painting look more organic.

All feedback is welcome! :)

Monday 16 November 2015

What If Metropolis : Influence Map


With this influence map I wanted to focus more on how the aspects of the city were built and how they formed together.I looked into Art Nouveau architecture and furniture to see how the details fit together and joined with the main body of the subject. I have learned through this that overlapping and strong thick bases were used to keep the thin edges sturdy and also the swirls fit with the main body at any point they could , they weren`t freestanding. 

I also wanted to look at concept art to inspire me for mine , in my head I wanted a whimsical disney esk style of concept art where I have the style of Art Nouveau ,but, I wanted to take aspects of Disney and how they create atmosphere and transfer it to my work.

Saturday 14 November 2015

What If! Metropolis : Full Building Silhouettes

After deciding on a technique for going about the buildings and vines , I put the two together and I feel as if these techniques have been quite successful. With my last 3 images I started to in cooperate Long`s ribbon like and swirl like traits into the trees to try and convey her style into the buildings more. However, I feel as if with the final buildings I may make the vines more simpler because the vines seem to distract away from the overall building design.

What If ! Metropolis : Vine Studies + Building Bases




After receiving feedback I felt as if I needed to understand how plant life worked and how the particular plant life I wanted to use to support the building grew and spread. After some initial painting , I felt as if the painterly style was slightly to messy and the style used didn`t look near enough like Long`s work than I wanted it to. I then started using the lasso tool to create more defined shapes and I feel those have been more successful. Next I will work on painting the actual building shapes and putting these components together.