For if the Dark Returns

This has been an incredibly long week. Projects to get back into, new projects to start…then getting sick and a holiday weekend……very long week.

So, what happened?

We didn’t have a full class critique last week and instead meet individually. As you saw from the previous post, I had basically all the line work done as well as the texture for Evil.

After the meeting it was determined that first thing that had to happen was the trees and their texture as this might influence a change in Evil’s texture. 

So that’s what I did. I finished the trees and tried to figure out if Evil was okay or not.

with line

without line

I took a poll around the labs and I’m going WITH the outline.

This past week I also worked on creating more fear it Evil using particles. As you can kind of see in the above images they looked kind of out of place. I worked with them a bit more, played with some textures, then got to a place I quite happy with.

And at that, here is what I have for this week:

Yeah, Pepper still needs color - but I’m going to be working on that in the background now and jump into Water World (WW). this world needs to happen, and needs to happen fast.

Side note:

Somehow, I sub-consciously based Evil’s silhouette off of Aku from Samurai Jack - a series I never watched as a kid but saw snippets of as I flipped through channels. This was totally by accident. What was on purpose was Evil’s eyes and how they look like Beast from Over the Garden Wall. When I watched it last year I though he was so creepy being most of the time just eyes - so I took it.

Seriously, if you haven't seen this show, you should watch it.

This just goes to show what can influence your own work. Normally I collect reference art before doing any type of concept drawing, but with all the different styles I was going for only a few pictures where collected and nothing was shown to you.

7 am the Usual Morning Line-Up

Like I said, last week was Spring Break, so there was no post. Now I’m back from break (so wish it was longer) and it's back to the draft board. Surprisingly I got quite a bit done for someone who actually went away.

Now, it might not look like it, but it really is a lot. All the line animation is finished, the base white layer is is for every one of Pepper, Evil is fully textured, and the trees is for the most part where they belong.

What is there still left to do?

Pepper needs her color, shadows need to be placed, the trees in S1 need to be fixed, the puzzle piece and transition to the next world need to go in, fog and dark particles are also something I want to add in - though that is more for post I think.

So here is the video of EW - and the boards still for WW since the music flows right into it. (annoyingly is was too big to just put on Blogger)

Looking ahead the first point to get done is Pepper’s color. After that I’ll feel secure enough to jump into WW and get the background done first. Shouldn’t take too long to do that since I can repeat most of the frames, but I do need a refresher course on the stop motion equipment.

Sorry to those of you that actually read these, as lately they are a bit short. But right now I just want to sleep. I'll face the fire in the morning.

So Over Due I Owe Them

Yet another post going up later than I wanted….and trust me I’m not happy about it.

Simply put, I’m a bit behind where I wanted to be this week. 

Originally Pepper was going to get done, and maybe even rough out Evil.

Yeah……no.

Instead I got her walk cycle cleaned up, a run cycle created and cleaned, and the opening shot cleaned and colored. I was also able to get this shot mostly right look-wise but I keep second guessing myself with the texture and lighting for the trees. Pepper also still needs a perspective run cycle and reach bit. You can see the 'whole' world underneath.

So why the off-put? 

Two reasons.

One: Pepper.

Coloring her in took WWAAAAAAAAAAYYY longer than I anticipated even if it was the easiest conceived pipe.

Two: Seminar.

As much as classes like to believe they are the only thing in your life I am also taking 5 other classes. Seminar has us doing big critiques this week so I’ve been a bit distracted…..not that Pepper was easy mind you. Coloring her in non-stop took about 5 hours!

Anyway, if you want more information on what Seminar/Thesis is like you can go here: http://kid-a-thesis.blogspot.com (Though it wasn’t updated last week) Vaguely interested in everything else? This one: http://andyouthoughtitwouldbeeasy.blogspot.com

Looking ahead….

Next week is Spring Break so I’m taking a few days off to de-stress and relax at home. After that though it is back to work…a lot of work.

The theory is that EW and Water World (WW) will both be finished over break….meaning that the Break will be very short indeed.

So see you all in 2 weeks people!

No Time to Stay, Hello, Good-Bye

Yeah, I’m posting this a bit later than normal - but it’s still before class.

So this has been a very long week. As I said before I have a lot of stuff for my other classes (see other blogs for details) and I was going home for the weekend to celebrate my Grandma’s birthday.

Now originally the idea for this ‘week 2’ was that all of Pepper would get done. I then said that because I would be away I would most likely change that due to lack of time - and thankfully my calendar allows for that.

Surprisingly, I got done more than I thought I would.

So far I have shot 1 + 2 blocked out — shot 1 is even cleaned! I actually really like shot 1 too and almost want it to be longer……

I also, just for my teacher, put together a mock frame. It isn’t what I want it to look like in the end: wasn’t composed in after effects, not set up in a 2.5D space, not sure if Pepper’s outline is going to be the dominate color of that section or the ‘black’ as if it was a coloring book…

Well, that’s about all I have to say. I know I usually write more, but too bad.