Story Beats

These story beats are quick sketches- 10min to complete, that capture a particular scene or character moment from the script. I've tried to draw them as I see them in my mind.

Meet a Possible Draco

After many drafts and hours spent working on the creation of this character I think I have been able to create the little bugger that was stuck in my mind. Yes he is overtly cute, but I think his face will allow me to push my animating abilities and his body is built to tumble and express that awkwardness that comes when you're not quite sure who you are yet.

This is not the final design, but its the closest I've come to it so far and that makes me happy; for the moment.

Need to research claws more, not happy with these ones yet.

Updated Folio

Have taken the plunge and invested in my online folio. Pretty pleased with the results, at the moment its missing a sketchbook dump area.

To have a look click the folio link above, or here

Scriptwriting

Without much guidance from the 2nd year scriptwriting subject where we were supposed to learn the craft of scriptwriting for animation, I have just completed the second draft of the Draco script.

I made the decision early on that I wanted to test the script on a range of readers before even beginning to animate a single scene. As a animator I not only want to demonstrate all that I have learnt in animation so far, but I also want to tell good stories. So now I wait to hear back from my test readers, then the script will be revised again before being sent out to a different lot of test readers. My attitude in relation to opinions and criticisms is that I would rather know now than waiting till we get further down the track and find ourselves trying to animate something that just isn't a very good story.

So for now? I wait.

Glen Keane

It's always time for Glen Keane advice

Sky studies

Sky and cloud studies, focus to establish depth and realism.

Essential Cloud Painting

Given that the sky is an integral part of the third year film, with it being the home of the source of inspiration for the protagonist- where the little dragon sees his father at his best, I was thrilled when I found this article on a fantastic animation blog . The article provides an insight into the delicate art of cloud painting.

Landscape Concept Art

Landscape concept art for third year film, settings for dragon ledge and the unicorn valley.

Colour and Background Concepts

Messing around with colour and style to create a concept background for the third year film based on the colours and style of both Fantasia Pastoral Suite and What's Opera Doc.

Pixar Studios

A Rare look inside Pixar Studios Here

Concept Art Background

A pivotal moment in the film I'm working on, is when the little dragon is rejected by the group and goes to cry by the lakeside. He sees his reflection and, in a similar vein to Disney's Mulan, is disappointed with what he sees as it is different to everyone else.

Before creating this background, I researched a lot of Disney legend, Mary Blair's work- in particluar scenes from Alice in Wonderland. I'm happier with how this one is evolving and also happy that I am starting to understand how colours work to create atmosphere and direction.

Concept Art Layout

Taking a break from scriptwriting and character design to try and illustrate the place that I see in my mind when I'm writing the film script. I see the valley as appearing in a kind of alpine setting, in keeping with the idea of purity often associated with unicorns. An alpine setting also allows for rocky outcrops and a variation in zones from the peacefulness of the valley covered in wildflowers to the dragon roost and the troll cave. It also holds the potential to be dramatic in scale.

At the moment I am grappling with the idea of a realistic setting versus a designed and imagined setting that is colourful and fanciful, more in keeping with fantasy. More to come.

Life at Pixar

A view into the life of a Pixar employee here

New Techniques

Playing around with new techniques in Corel Draw, trying to loosen up a bit and give more movement to my illustrations. Decided to test it out on an already established character- Blizzard's Murloc from World of Warcraft.