18 // More Concept Art

17 // Concepting the Generator

As I said in one of my earlier posts: I wanted to spend a lot more time producing concept art for this project, something that my last animation lacked and suffered from. So right now I'm getting stuck into producing as many concepts as I can think of for this story.

I've still not 100% completed the narrative or storyboard for the animation, but I have enough notes and ideas that I have a good idea so far of what I'm going to need to get started designing. Some of the concepts I shared in my last post show the towers rising from the chaotic, post-apocalyptic Sci-Fi environment; these towers are like energy conduits, spires of flesh and metal erected by the demonic AI for human-farming. I imagine that the focus of the story is for the heroes to be on a mission to destroy the largest of these spires - a command tower kind of thing - which houses a huge high-tech generator that powers the whole operation in that sector of the city.

So this was to be my first piece of concept art: the massive generator.

I'd been looking at an issue of Vertex magazine which showed Riot's concept designer, Darren Bartley's workflow for coming up with high-detail, quick Sci-Fi concepts. He begins with some quick digital sketches in Photoshop (or similar software) before selecting a successful or interesting design and moving onto SketchUp to begin some rough 3D modelling and experimentation. This was something I'd tried before, so wasn't entirely new to me, and was pretty easy to get readjusted to.

I limited myself to 4 sketches in the first phase, playing around with form and shape. My thought process involved things like imagining what location in the tower the generator might reside (peak, base, central etc) and how it might be supported by other tech (power cables, horizontal/vertical struts etc). After an hour or so of sketching these out - trying to think in both silhouette and 3-dimensional forms simultaneously - I was quite happy with the second design (which I saw as being located in the upper section of the tower, hanging like a chandelier, supported by hundreds of cables). 

Opening up SketchUp (free software from Google) I had my 2D sketch open to reference from as I set about blocking in the general shape and scale of the 3D model. The figure in the 1st image doesn't give an accurate representation of the scale of the generator - I actually shrunk the figure quite a lot later on, to make the generator more massive in comparison.

Once I had the rough shape of the generator built, I went on and started to add cables, panels and exhaust ports of varying design to bulk it up a bit and get plenty of variation in the shapes. My initial sketch had just been a vague idea of how I wanted the final design to look, I knew there was a lot more experimentation to come within SketchUp, which is part of the software's charm - it allows for quick and easy shape manipulation and testing, without having to worry about correct 3D modelling procedures or limitations.

I spent a day or so adding shapes like this, using radial arrays of differing quantities to keep the variety. I was constantly checking that the silhouette looked suitably threatening and high-tech for the purposes of the generator as I worked on it. Finally I added the pipes that would serve as the central support foundations, connecting the generator to the inside of the tower, elevating it high within the structure. 

In my original sketch I have a lot of hanging cables in the design which were omitted from this model, purely because they were a pain in the ass to model and position in SketchUp... they can easily be drawn in later on if I decide I still want to go with that aspect.

The next few grabs show the corrected scale adjustment of the generator vs. the human figure, giving some idea of the detail level that was required of something this large.

Now that this model is complete - I'm relatively happy with it so far, but if I decide later that something needs changed, it's a pretty easy process to do so - I can move on and start work on some of the other elements within the tower super-structure, such as the human-farm pods.

Here are a few more examples of the generator, presented in a more graphic style:

16 // Early Concept Art

I've spent quite a bit of a time over the past week coming up with some visual ideas to help kick-start my creative process for the visuals of this project. I got a couple of sketchbooks out and grabbed the tech pens and brush-pen to get some inked ideas down quickly.

As usual when I go through this process, I begin by looking at all the things that have previously inspired me - games, movies, books, music etc - and use them as aids to generate some reference sketches that help to get me straight into the mood for drawing. I began with looking at shapes and designs from existing Sci-Fi related subjects and artwork, replicating a couple of the things I've seen there, before embarking on my own ventures and ideas.

The majority of these sketches are designs of my own, I omitted most of the early studies that were made (they soon became irrelevant) other than a few from the Alien franchise, which are shown alongside my own sketchy ideas on that same page.

The studies are useful as they get me into the mood for drawing quickly and also allow me to see some shapes and ideas that I might not have been aware of before. Sometimes I include certain forms or details in my own work, sometimes I don't. It often depends on my interest at that point, or where I intend my own work to head.

So in these cases I was feeling like going a bit darker with the Sci-Fi genre, wanting to present a chaotic, post-apocalyptic world of some sort, featuring creatures that are like technological demons (a bit like the AI-gone-wild of Terminator, but more evil and demonic). I'm still gradually figuring out the narrative for my animation as I go, so this phase was a stepping stone whereby I hoped the visual research would help me to come up with some alternative ideas.

I'm pretty happy with some of these results, the exercise has definitely been beneficial in getting some of my preliminary ideas out of my head, and has helped me to develop some more ideas for the story, fleshing out the world as I go and coming up with lots of new ideas. Looking ahead, I think I could be on the right track with this one.

After spending a bit of time working on the early environment ideas, I thought about the type of demonic creature I wanted to portray, so I set to some character design. I'm all about the idea of an AI that has gone crazy and started to develop it's own methods of making itself into terrifying-looking monsters, so I went with the flesh/metal combo for this guy's look (I'm thinking this type of character might be more like the main villain/overseer, hence his enormity).

Starting with sketching out 8 different character types, I narrowed it down and selected the pose I felt was most dynamic before playing around with that one a little and refining it into the slightly more detailed version on the last page. This isn't a finished design by any means; there are still a lot of problems to figure out, but that'll come with time.

15 // Akira Reference

I meant to include this with my earlier post about old anime shows but it slipped my mind, so here it is now. Released in 1988, this feature-length anime is based on the manga story of the same name. Stylistically it carries all the traits of anime from that period, featuring fantastic animation, colours and lighting, all wrapped up in an epic Sci-Fi storyline.

I first saw the movie when I was younger and it inspired me way back then, so to still be influenced by it now, and able to study it in depth is a great opportunity. The more I watch it now, the more I want to apply a similar visual style to my work now, much the same as Dave Rapoza's Metroid retro-styled animation.

Here are a few screen grabs from the first ten minutes of Akira:

14 // Gathering Reference

While I'm still trying to figure out the narrative for the animation, I'm going to begin drawing up some character designs and style tests. The most important thing for me to do is get some original images/designs that I can also use for animation tests, to try out some of the new techniques that Blizzard's "Lords of War" has taught me.

Also, sometimes just sitting down and drawing stuff is a good way to kickstart the imagination and get some fresh ideas, so it might help me out with the narrative at the same time. At the least, it'll also provide an opportunity to get some of those ideas out of my head and into visual form, rather than just words and notes.

I made up a few mood boards to show where my early inspiration is coming from. The majority of these images came from my hard drive, a collection of inspiration that I've been amassing since college. This collection is a mixture of Fantasy and Sci-Fi genres, with some blends along the way.

Initially I'm looking for anything attracts my attention: lights; colours; shapes; moods; characters; environments etc. The images here are sourced from concept art from a number of different projects, retro music related themes, development sketches... all manner of places, really.

Since my next step will be some early concepting (something I regret not spending enough time - if any - on for my last project), I'm looking briefly at Sci-Fi environments, a huge variety of character designs, and several different art styles that might help me determine my own style later on.

I'm already fairly certain that my story will take place in a Sci-Fi environment, so I think I'm on the right track there already. As for characters, I'm thinking the main characters will be a male and female of some Sci-Fi design, while the enemies will feature a genre-twist of some sort - maybe futuristic horror. At lot is uncertain right now, but that's why the next stage is so important: to test out as many ideas and visuals as possible before thinking about further ventures.

13 // Studying from Blizzard Entertainment's "Lords of War"

I recently came across a series of short movies by Blizzard Entertainment: "Lords of War". Based on the World of Warcraft universe, this series of short cinematics serve as backstory for one of their game installments. I can't believe I never knew of this before, it is as complete a lesson in what I want to do as I could hope to find.

Each episode begins with a short 3D rendered scene which serves as an introduction to the backstory segment. The backstory segments are digitally painted, 2D parallax-style animations.

Here's the entire video, consisting of 5 parts:

Each episode has it's own story and characters, focusing on different aspects of the Warcraft lore/history. The episodes each have their own mood and style, using different colour palettes to keep things varied. The illustration style is maintained throughout each short, while a huge variety of shots and dynamic angles keep the movement fluid and diverse.

To say there's a lot for me to learn from this animation is an understatement... all the questions I had previously, regarding how best to portray movement and dynamism in my own work, can be answered here. This is my bible now, and should teach me just about everything I need to know in order to get a good result from my own animation.

I watched the whole series yesterday and began making some notes, trying to narrow down what gaps in my skillset need to be addressed immediately, so I know where to focus my studies. Today I took a few screen grabs from the first episode to see what kinds of techniques are used here, that might benefit my work later on, or even during the planning and storyboarding stages.

This shot's a pretty straightforward slow pan, lasting 4 or 5 seconds. There's nothing much happening in terms of movement, but the camera does have a nice little shudder effect applied to it, breaking up the simplicity of the pan and adding some realism to the shot.

When I was working on my last project, I thought the best way to approach this style of animation was to treat each image/shot as a still moment in time, through which the camera was the only thing moving - as if the viewer was moving through the still image. The problem with this is that despite the movement that comes as a result of the camera motion, there's still a static quality to the finished animation that I wasn't too happy with - I wanted a bit more motion from each scene.

I wasn't sure how to properly go about bridging the gap between these still 2D images and traditional animation styles (cartoon animation, for example, which I can't do) without fearing that I might be doing it "wrong", but this example shows that there is way to do it that maintains the still illustration style while getting some extra motion in there.

By simply drawing the hand in an extra couple of positions and fading in and out between each (which in slow-mo, or frame by frame, reveals a subtle onion-skinning transition effect between positions), the simple movement works effectively, without it appearing as a cheap gimmick (I don't think).

The 4-step movement above occurs over 5 seconds, with a very slow, shuddering camera zoom added to the shot for good measure. In my opinion, it works great: it maintains the feeling of 2D still images, with extra motion where it's needed. This is something I'll definitely be applying to my own work.

Same deal here, but a shorter shot - this one's only 3 seconds long. The camera moves in on the finger and the tearing fingernail occurs quickly, before cutting to the next shot.

This 10 second shot uses simple fades to cut from long shot to close-up, then to change location and lighting entirely. Very smooth, very effective.

These 8 shots occur over 15 or so seconds, to set the scene of the gladiator location. Each shot lasts between 1 and 3 secs, with subtle camera motion, parallax effect, camera shudder etc.There's plenty of variety from shot to shot: lots of different angles and points of focus, lighting, depth... it all adds to the scene-setting.

When I went back to check these shots out frame by frame, I noticed that there were no fades between each shot (in my last animation, between each shot, I used a black screen fade-in and out to make a 2 or 3 second transition between each image). I initially thought that the only reason they didn't do something similar here was to maintain the speed of this scene, cutting between shots quickly. When I looked through the rest of the episode to check this theory, it turns out they don't use transitions at all - each shot cuts quickly into the next, regardless of the scene's pace. So I guess I've been doing it wrong all along! Although in my own animation I think it was actually quite handy, maybe because there weren't many images to work with, so the pace wasn't as swift as this animation. 

This fast zoom occurs over 3 seconds, during which there's some camera shudder as it moves along it's path toward the warriors. The parallax style takes effect here, much like my previous work used it. There's also some very subtle motion coming from the arms of the fighters - I think they used the puppet warp feature in After Effects to do it. It's barely noticeable, but would be even more noticeable if there was no such motion at all.

Fast action pan here, uing the onion-skinning technique mentioned in some of the earlier shots, to provide a smoother motion to the action.

Same technique here, in a very quick static shot, but with the motion effect to make it an effective addition to the scene.

Conclusion

These examples just show a little of what this series of shorts has to offer. There's so much more to learn from the animation, and if I can pick up some of these skills and apply them to my own work, the end result should be all the better for it.

In the near future I'll be studying from the other episodes, to analyse the techniques and see how they use colour theory and lighting to improve the scenes.

12 // Considering the Track

I've spent the past day or so trying to gain a better understanding of the track I'm working with here; since I first heard it a few months ago, I recognised that it stirred some emotions in me which in turn led to my imagination coming up with all sorts of visual ideas, so I've been trying to make sense of these and get some of them down on paper.

I started off by getting the track into Audacity (music editing software) so that I had a graph of the track to use as a visual aid. By listening to the track repeatedly, I was able to break it down into its different sections and apply my thoughts to each in the hope that a narrative structure might begin to reveal itself. It was pretty easy for me to remember all my earlier ideas and visuals - my imagination seems to work like a sketchbook where I can store imagined shots/angles, especially if I make a note of it somewhere - so I went through this process a few times, making notes in Photoshop and in a notepad, trying to find questions - and answers - as I went.

This seemed to be working out pretty well, I was able to juggle a few different ideas and try to imagine visuals that might fit the track. It's a vague process as the only notes I get down are words/phrases that really mean anything to myself, so for anybody else reading it, it might not have the same effect. So far, at this stage, it's a quicker method than sketching, but I'm definitely going to have to get onto that really soon. For now though, my imagination is doing a pretty good job in conjunction with pages and pages of notes.

Also, since I'm using this stage as a means to try and figure out the narrative, I want to make sure I'm creating a world and story that makes sense and is plausible. The story has to be just right before I invest any more time in it, or else I'll just have to come up with something else. I'm pretty happy with what I'm coming up with so far though, so I think a bit more tweaking will get a good result.

Here are some of the notes I made:

When I started thinking about how the tempo of the track might influence the cuts and edits of the visual shots, I noticed that the speed of the music doesn't have a major shift; it seems to me that the build up of emotion comes from added instruments and pitch (I'm no musician, so I'm probably completely off the mark with that assumption, but that's kind of what I was getting from it). From all the notebook notes I've made on narrative ideas so far (which I'm not going to share until I've solved all the problems) it'll be the heightened emotion sections that feature the quickest shots and highest paced action scenes.

This might not have been the most efficient way to go about this kind of thing, but it's really helped me to figure out a lot of the problems early on, and gain some new ideas, so I'm happy to continue in this manner for a bit longer until I'm happy with where things are going.

This is just the start of my attempts to figure out the transition I want this animation to take, but I'll be looking into visual structure soon and seeing how that might have an effect on things. Something I want to try and focus on with this animation is to present a relatively straightforward story, but support it with transitions/twists in genre, colour, mood, emotion etc.