The following video clips should give a good indication of exactly what the parallax style is, and how it is being put to use in the games industry, in a number of different styles.
The various styles of animation gave me a lot to think about in the beginning. I could already see how my own artwork style might adapt to this format and I was making mental notes on how I could apply techniques and conduct some of my own tests. When I watched these clips, I wasn't concerned with how the art styles were different to mine, rather I was focusing on picking up some tricks and techniques related solely to the animation.
I was picking up on things such as: using many layers of depth to push and pull the viewer around each scene; how certain effects could make an illustration practically draw itself on a page; the way that the art came first, and the effects and motion were like the icing on the cake.
When I gave some thought about where to even begin, or what software was most suited to the job, I instantly thought of After Effects being the most appropriate tool. I had tried something similar a couple of years back, in college, and thought about the process I had used back then. Digging out my original notes and project footage, it looked like a very basic version of what I was planning on doing here, so it served as a good reminder.
As the majority of the clips I've shown here are cutscene/backstory animations, they act as a visual guide to the underlying narrative of each game. I had limited experience in initiating a project where a solid and reliable workflow had to be implemented in order to produce a polished final result, so I had some concerns to begin with. I wasn't sure if I could quickly establish a workflow consisting of design, script-writing, storyboarding, illustrating and editing and also allow myself enough time to focus on other studies, but once I got stuck in and thought things through enough, it all began to feel quite natural and fun.
