Background Complete

The is the latest background I've been working on for the past couple of days. I knew this one was going to be detailed because of its role in the project. This is it without any lighting or effects of any kind- I'll do that in post.

Every object in the room is there for a reason and it helps progress the narrative or reveal character in my project in some way. And yep every object is self contained and ready to be put into Toon Boom. So far on track.

Blogging Hits a Snag

I like to blog, I can freely admit that. So it was with horror that I discovered that I was over my limit for the number of pictures I can have on my blogger account :O Now because I'm kind of in the middle of something- ie: my honours project and an exegesis- I can't be bothered working out how to fix this problem. Therefore I'll just have to provide links to my photos which for the time being I will store on my Tumblr.

I'm now working on the large pans that I had been putting off till the end so you will find the next two here. With these pans I'm really focused on a contrast to the previous shots, these long pans give me the opportunity to show a flattening of the landscape. This is a deliberate aesthetic choice as it exaggerates the conformist same same nature of suburbia.

Another Background

Another Background done in outline draft form with accompanying depth identification showing the layers within the landscape.

Slow and steady, but determined to get it done.

Walking down the street- Modern Day

Walking down the street- Back in the old days

Meanwhile, Back at My Project.....

Having spent a week fussing with the exegesis, it was time to get back to the project- You remember the project? The thing that all this writing and researching is meant to be all about? Yeaaaah. So I got back into it and Act One is all done for line work.

Below are the basic line guides for some backgrounds. These are guides, the final won't have big stinking outlines all over them.

Act1Sc2

The Kitchen

Pan of Street- Modern Day

Pan of Street- vision of the past

Voyeur style view of a street

Same street but in the past

I'm also including a colour coding process of depth that will also assist with layer creation in photoshop. Works on the principle that the further away something is in the distance, the lighter the colour:

Break Through

Have been working this week largely on the essays for SIGGRAPH and the exegesis. My plan is to try and get that side of it pretty much under control because I know the project itself will dominate my time over the next two months. TWO MONTHS? Is that it?! Yep everything due on the 24 October. Now is the perfect time to panic.

Good news though I did discover Google SketchUp today, free online program that allows you to model (very crude) 3D models. This is going to be perfect for me in the line drafting phase of the project. Much like the miniature hand made models of Claude Coats, this program will allow me to view all angles of a scene without having to constantly redraw it from a different perspective. And on the subject of perspective, it will help me out a great deal, especially as I am gearing perspective for the sake of the viewer and not character.

Here are some basic ones I did today, just to give me an idea and the best thing is that I can use the same models for a number of different scenes.

Epic Pans are Epic

Trying to finish as much as possible before leaving for LA this Thursday. My plan is to outline the backgrounds and then go back into them to complete the render process. This will allow me to sort out the size and camera movements plus the illusion of depth and details before I start to colour. I will be working in photoshop and am determined to keep my layers tidy and organised so that I can adhere to the lessons regarding layout and design that I have been researching.

Here are some of the latest ones from a pan shot. Each background has to be done twice as this will reveal what the community was like in the 20s and 30s and what it is like today.

Ashfield in the past

Ashfield in the present

Both layers together showing the similarities and differences between the two eras

Close Up of shop fronts- Modern Day

Close up of shop fronts- 1920s and 30s era

The final background renders will not have the heavy outline but will instead have a very thin hand drawn, not ruled, outline that will enable recognition of the background details.

Backgrounds Slow and Steady

For the past couple of weeks I have been struggling with motivation, found a little bit more now that I'm back at uni this week. I put my lack of motivation down to isolation; being away from uni and people who push me at uni has slowed me down I think.

However, progress has been made. In addition to working out screen ratios for backgrounds I have started to outline on perspective grids the actual backgrounds for each scene. As I create each outline I have also been separating the layers that will add depth and realism to the finished project. Here are the background outlines done thus far:

Act1 Scene 1

Break down depth analysis of Act1 Scene 1a

Act 1: Scene9 - The last hook is reserved for the hat which will be animated

Act 1: Scene9- Depth Analysis