21.05.09 -- Finished model (1/2)

WHAT I HAVE DONE TODAY:

I built up layers of Fimo according to the wire frame and thickened Tez out according to his character reference, trying to adhere to his personality and physical symbolism attributes like his slinky, craftiness. Once I'd finished defining his details, like his toes and mask, I baked him to solidify him. However, the delicate bits like the head dress ornaments were shaped and cooked seperately so that they could eventually be glued on, making it look more realistic. Once it was suitably hardened I painted the markings on in two layers, and then varnished the mask, mirror and ornaments, but not the body, because I wanted his fur to stay matte so that the mask would look more artificial and less like markings. Once this was all done I got some green feathery material, cut it and glued it the back of his neck to form his mane.

WHAT I WILL DO TOMORROW:

As tomorrow is the last day of the project at college before half-term I will be busy tidying up the work space ready for the exhibition when we come back, so I don't expect to be as productive as I have been on previous days. However, I will make sure that I go back through my sketchbook, adding notes and highlighting as appropriate. It is worth noting that I am almost completely ready to set up my display. All I have left to do is Quetzalcoatl's model, the final poster and two storyboards, all of which I will do in the next week.

20.05.09 -- Badges & model research

WHAT I HAVE DONE TODAY:

On tuesday I used the college's badge maker to create four batches of my final six designs. It took me a while to size them correctly, and the process took me a while to get into, but eventually I got into the flow of it and found it a very enjoyable process. These badges will be available to take at the final exhibition, to prove how effective it is as a merchandising and advertising technique.

Also, on wednesday, I collected images of models for merchandising from King Kong and Final Fantasy, as well as some images from Harryhausen's films to use as research for my own models that I intend to make. I have also put the article from Imagine magazine about him in my sketchbook as further evidence of research. I have chosen to create my models using wire frames and Fimo clay, so I have collected these ingredients and finally crafted the frame and began building up layers of clay for Tezcatlipoca.

WHAT I WILL DO TOMORROW:

I will finish off building up the model's layers and crafting the figure's details. Then I will cook it and paint it according to my character design.

18.05.09 -- Badge designs & finished bookmark

WHAT I HAVE DONE TODAY:

I sketched some ideas for badge designs and introduced some vague washes of watercolour to get a specific idea of what they would look like in a circular format, keeping in mind my research. I picked out a few of these to proceed with and actually turn into badges, and although I originally only wanted three character based designs and a logo, I ended up choosing five character ones and a logo. Like the bookmark, I finished these designs digitally.

I also finished my final bookmark today. First I printed it on normal paper, then cut around it to leave a white border to embolden it. Then I traced and cut around the shape onto thin card and used it as backing to make the bookmark thicker, like the examples I looked at.

WHAT I WILL DO TOMORROW:

I will make my final badges tomorrow, as well as beginning the plans for my modelmaking. To do this I will look at the modelmaker Ray Harryhausen, after reading an article about him in Imagine magazine.

15.05.09 -- Bookmark design

WHAT I HAVE DONE TODAY:

First I drew up some possible designs for my final bookmark, taking inspiration from the ones I'd bought and annotated for their specific qualities. In the end I chose an entirely character based design, giving Quetzalcoatl a more accessible, cute look and drawing him in a long, vertical posture to suite the format, so that his head pokes above the pages of the books. I then drew this idea up on Photoshop using my graphics tablet and coloured it so that it is ready to print tomorrow.

WHAT I WILL DO TOMORROW:

Tomorrow I will finish my bookmark and proceed with my badge designs.

14.05.09 -- Logo design & bookmark/badge research

WHAT I HAVE DONE TODAY:

As I said I would do yesterday, today I continued with the work on my logo. I did this by scanning in my three favourite samples, englarging them, reprinting them and then asking my peers to pick out their favourite on aesthetic principles, and then the one that looked most Aztec or Central American in style. To my surprise I found that the different questions received different answers almost every time, so I decided to merge the two designs. First, however, I started reproducing them in Adobe Illustrator, but found that the results were too sleek and straightforward. I wanted something with more roughness and texture to it, to imply that it is both ancient and Aztec. So in the end I drew some more designs with black and white watercolour that melded the two peer-chosen designs until I settled on one that really worked for me.

On wednesday I completed the research pages for the badges and bookmarks I bought earlier in the project. As I did with the research into logos and posters, I annotated and picked the merchandise apart so that I could understand it thoroughly.

WHAT I WILL DO TOMORROW:

I will continue the work I started on bookmarks and badges by drawing possible designs for my own merchandising, then set about drawing them up digitally.

12.05.09 -- Logo design

WHAT I HAVE DONE TODAY:

I used internet search engines to collect a variety of popular film and television logos including Jurassic Park and Transformers, as well as three film posters. I then annotated these images, picking them apart to acknowledge how they can easily imply the theme and genre of a film with only a simple shape, font of image. From this knowledge, which I paired with imagery from my characters, concept art, plots and research into the Aztecs themselves, I sketched some ideas and analysed them to pick out which was the most effective.

WHAT I WILL DO TOMORROW:

From here I will develop a final logo digitally, perhaps using Illustrator to create a smooth, simple shape. I can then use this logo for merchandising, in my poster, badges and potentially the bookmark too. Once the logo is fully designed I can create the final poster ready for the display.

11.05.09 -- Concept art

WHAT I HAVE DONE TODAY:

I sketched out some designs for scenes, objects and weapons that have helped me further expand on the world I've created within this film, and backs up my understanding of my characters. For example, I drew rough sketches of Tezcatlipoca and Quetzalcoatl's temples, then introduced watercolour, using the colour to help with symbolism. This helped me to imagine what kind of environment their personalities would inspire, and how their colours and general appearances would influence their surroundings. Hence Tezcatlipoca's temple and city was portrayed as desaturated and arid, while Quetzalcoatl's is exotic and colourful.

WHAT I WILL DO TOMORROW:

I will research into popular logos for film and television, as well as posters, and will annotate them to identify their common themes, symbolism and composition. After this I will sketch out ideas for my own logo and poster, which will be created later on.

08.05.09 -- Plot final draft & character profiles

WHAT I HAVE DONE TODAY:

I wrote up a final copy of my plot and annotated it as I said I would yesterday, but also completed three character pages. For these I printed off images of possible poses for the final digital images I completed earlier on, as well as a sketch or progress shot of the final one. I also explained the process of creating the final images with screenshots, and wrote up indepth profiles of the characters' personalities and appearances, how they link through symbolism, and how my research effected the final outcomes.

WHAT I WILL DO TOMORROW:

I plan on filling two pages of my sketch book with concept and scenery designs for various aspects of the film.

07.05.09 -- Narrative research

WHAT I HAVE DONE TODAY:

Today I researched into narrative structures, genres and typical character functions to back up my original plot. Primarily I looked at Todorov and Propp's theories as I studied them in AS level Film Studies, so I was already aware of them. I expanded this research into genres, looking up the foremost genres like horror, fantasy, childrens, etc. and defining them, as well as giving examples.

WHAT I WILL DO TOMORROW:

I will apply what I have found today to the original plot I posted here, rewriting it so that it adheres to everything I have learnt about my characters and the Aztecs in general over the course of this project. I will also annotate this plot summary to show how it derives from my research into narrative, the Aztecs and the films I watched earlier, and what the morals are and how they connect to me personally.

06.05.09 -- Yaotl digital and merchandise research

WHAT I HAVE DONE TODAY:
Today I wasn't at college as I had a doctor's appointment in the morning. However, I found time in the afternoon and evening to work on Yaotl's final digital image and finally completed it ready to be printed larger for the exhibition.

I also recieved the clay I ordered several days ago, so I'm ready to begin the three dimensional section of the project.

WHAT I WILL DO TOMORROW:
Revise what I have to do in the second, merchandising part of the project as well as setting out how I came up with my film plot, name and character ideas in my workbook. I will also photograph the character models from films I have bought in the past as research for posing and methods for my three dimensional work, and will collect posters to understand the layout and design for my own.

05.05.09 -- Finished character design (3/3)

WHAT I HAVE DONE TODAY:
Today I finished up Quetzalcoatl's design completely, after having some trouble deciding on his head dress design and the even distribution of colours. Some of his tests used too much green, considering that his body is itself composed of different shades of green. In the end I paid homage to the original Aztec drawings of Quetzalcoatl that used a balance of green, red and yellow, all light, natural shades to symbolise his similar traits as a God. I annotated these drawings as well to show the progression of thoughts, ideas and corrections. So that means I've finally completed all three character designs completely ready for the final digital depictions.

WHAT I WILL DO TOMORROW:
I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow, so will be unable to attend college. However, I will work on the digital drawings whenever possible during the day, hopefully finishing the female warriors second final drawing.

04.05.09 -- Yaotl digital and merchandise research

WHAT I HAVE DONE TODAY:
I drew out two versions of the woman's final image and researched appropriate names for her. This research will form an additional page in my workbook, but I eventually settled on the name Yaotl (yah-tl) that means 'battle' in Nahuatl. I didn't really like my first image of her because it felt too two-dimensional and frigid, without any of her warrior spirit. The second one I drew was much rougher and sketchier, but I think this style works better for the project as it is more raw and aggressive, matching the issues brought up in the plot. This new one is still being worked on, bt I hope to finish it before the end of the week.

I also went shopping for merchandise as research today. I bought three packs of four badges for the TV show Lost, and the films Napoleon Dynamite and The Dark Knight. They are all from different genres, aimed towards different demographics, so writing about my findings will be incredibly useful to the next part of the project. I also bought five bookmarks with various themes and graphics on them, ranging from Winnie the Pooh to fairies, that I will also fix to my workbook and write about.

WHAT I WILL DO TOMORROW:
Finish the Quetzalcoatl section and fully annotate all my character tests.

01.05.09 -- Quetzalcoatl and colour (2/3)

WHAT I HAVE DONE TODAY:
I stuck in the little doodles of Quetzalcoatl in pure watercolour that I did last week to test out his form and fluidity, as well as his colour scheme, last week. This was an interesting experiment, as I didn't want all three characters to be brought about by the same method. Instead I have two characters drawn simply in pencil first and then coloured, and one where the colours formed the character. However, because all three were based off of Gods and I had distinct colour schemes in mind inspired from old Aztec depictions of these Gods, this differing process didn't matter so much. Though I did prefer the process I went through with Tezcatlipoca and the woman moreso.

Also, I went through and added colour to all my sketches, splashing on ink and colour pens and oil pastel to realise which was the most appropriate medium to work in for his project, and annotated all my findings. So now have completely final ideas for Tezcatlipoca and the woman ready to start their final digital images.

WHAT I WILL DO TOMORROW:
As I will not be in college tomorrow I won't be able to finish Quetzalcoatl's pages, but I will instead start working on the digital images and research for the final merchandising and promotional aspect of the project.

30.04.09 -- Warrior princess character sketches

WHAT I HAVE DONE TODAY:
As I planned yesterday, today I have completed three pages of sketches testing out looks for my Aztec warrior princess, basing her appear subtly on the Goddess Itzpapalotl whom she's based off of. I wanted to get across her fiesty, serious nature, but at the same time was keen to explore how she might look in various moods just to get a grip of whether the look was right for her personality. So I drew up a few different expressions, ranging from giggling to aggressive, and used that method to narrow down her look to a final page that I was more or less happy with.

WHAT I WILL DO TOMORROW:
I want to use media like watercolour paint, inks, pen, pencil and possibly oil pastels to explore Tezcatlipoca and the woman further and to pin down the use of colours in their ultimate designs. I also want to start the Quetzalcoatl sketches, adding in the quick watercolour samples I did last week.

29.04.09 -- Tezcatlipoca character design sketches

WHAT I HAVE DONE TODAY:
I drew up three pages of potential Tezcatlipoca designs in my sketchbook today, starting off with a more threatening, toothy design and finally narrowing it down into a dark, eerie design that unsettles and disturbs the viewer more than outright frightens them. I also added extra ink doodles of black jaguars in my research pages just to make sure I could get the anatomy and posture right enough to exaggerate and characterise it for Tezcatlipoca, as I found that making him look realistic wasn't putting forward enough of the character and dynamic slinky, sneakiness that I wanted to show in his form.

WHAT I WILL DO TOMORROW:
I want to work in much the same fashion as I did, but draw up the Aztec woman's design.

28.04.09 -- Finished character research

WHAT I HAVE DONE TODAY:
I revisited my animal drawings and added photographs as well as some additional sketches. I also completely finished the large annotations and research on the Aztecs, so my research section on character designing and background is entirely complete. Therefore I have basis for all three of my planned characters completely in mind, ready to get some solid designs down.

WHAT I WILL DO TOMORROW:
I plan on drawing up and annotating some prelimary sketches for my three main characters, one page each to start off with, which will develop into tests with various media over a couple more pages. In total I hope that each character will have three pages of potential designs and trials before I settle on a final to produce digitally for my final display and exhibition.

24.04.09 -- Final exhibition plan

WHAT I HAVE DONE TODAY:
I checked out a book in the same style as the Art Of Bolt and Wall-E books but for the Disney/Pixar film Cars and took photographs which I mounted into my sketchbook and annotated. I also planned out how I want my final piece/exhibition to look like, which will give me extra drive and focus to produce everything necessary.

WHAT I WILL DO TOMORROW:
By the end of this week I want to have completed the three character model sheets, ready to work on merchandising next week, followed by two weeks of storyboarding and coming up with a loose trailer, if possible. The idea of finishing with a trailer is one I am reconsidering now, as my tutor's absence means I won't have very much technical help, but as this project as about film promotion through artwork and graphics, it isn't entirely essential.

10.03.09 -- Short hiatus for portfolio work

WHAT I HAVE DONE TODAY:
As stated in my last post, I am dedicating one week to completing my Uni portfolio, but will be resuming immediately after and picking up the pace to make up for lost time.

WHAT I WILL DO TOMORROW:
As soon as my portfolio is completed I will finish all of my research for character design and decide on final colors for my three main characters through trial and error using pencil crayons and watercolours.

09.04.09 -- Finished first research

WHAT I HAVE DONE TODAY:
Finished the first six pages of research completely, with examples, sketches from examples and annotations displaying facts about the work and progress, my opinions of the work and how it does or will apply to my own work.

WHAT I WILL DO TOMORROW:
For the next week I will work on my university portfolio, thus meaning I will be taking some time off from this project and posting here. Work and posting will hopefully resume on the 23rd, the day after my interview, when I expect to carry on with my research and draw up some very rough character ideas, experimenting with colour and such.

08.04.09 -- Zoo drawing

WHAT I HAVE DONE TODAY:
Today I went to Bristol Zoo and drew from live animals to get a better grasp of their anatomy and how they move and act. I did two pages of reptiles (although I will add water colour to some tomorrow as the reptile house was too hot to spend that much time in..), a page of lions (with some photo references to back it up) and have drawn from images of jaguars on the internet to produce another two pages.

WHAT I WILL DO TOMORROW:
I will continue putting the finishing touches to my earlier research in my work book and, if I have time, produce some very rough character sketches on Photoshop experimenting with colour and form.

07.04.09 -- Wall-E and The Dark Crystal notes

WHAT I HAVE DONE TODAY:
Read through the Wall-E art book and re-read the Dark Crystal book. I found the annotations and actual information in the Wall-E book to be more useful than Bolt, as it concentrates more on the process where Bolt's book concentrates on the technique and look of the film. I also find the Dark Crystal art book incredibly interesting as it portrays a good deal of character art and exploration, while it's actually written entirely in-character, as if the world of the Dark Crystal actually exists. It adds to the believability of the film, and it is this aspect I am keen to mimic in my own work.

Although the 'world' of mesoamerica and the Aztecs isn't fantasy or science-fiction like Wall-E and the Dark Crystal, it is nonetheless a 'world' that you can't visit and have to use your imagination to access. So, in this aspect, I would like my final exhibition to use the Dark Crystal book's method of using concept art as 'evidence' or 'research', while telling the story of The Obsidian Butterfly like a legend and film through story boards and character models.

WHAT I WILL DO TOMORROW:
Visit Bristol Zoo to draw from live subjects (as the real studios do), focusing on reptiles (snakes inparticular) and felines (lions, they don't have jaguars unfortunately). I plan to work in ink, pencil and watercolour. When I get back home I will also look up photo references of jaguars so I can compare their structures with those of the lions. And, while I'm at the zoo, I will take photos to be put into my work book as original references.

06.04.09 -- Documentaries and Bolt notes

WHAT I HAVE DONE TODAY:
I was unable to make an entry yesterday as I had to work, but I have spent today reading the Bolt pre-production and development art book, and have made notes on it. I have also watched a variety of documentaries on the Aztec civilisation on Youtube, all of which I have made notes on and will be able to intergrate into my pre-existing research from websites. I have scanned in the notes I made while watching the documentaries: Aztecs: Inside the Hidden Empire and Ancient Warriors: The Aztecs.

WHAT I WILL DO TOMORROW:
Read through the Wall-E and Dark Crystal books and make notes, then compare and contrast all three books together in my work book. I will also do this for the films and documentaries I have watched.

04.04.09 -- Apocolypto

WHAT I HAVE DONE TODAY:
I watched Apocolypto and made notes, which I will include with my notes on Road to El Dorado in my work book. Personally I didn't think the film was very good. There were too many continuity errors to make it believable, and these errors spoiled the whole movie for me. But, while I didn't enjoy it as a whole, I did appreciate the familiar aspects of mesoamerican culture in it, particularly the references to Kukulkan, the Mayan feathered serpent god, their version of Quetzalcoatl, and Ixchel, the goddess of childbirth and maternity.

WHAT I WILL DO TOMORROW:
I will complete more sketch book work, watch documentaries on the Aztecs on Youtube and look into any galleries or museums where I might be able to get some primary research.

03.04.09 -- The Road to El Dorado analysis

WHAT I HAVE DONE TODAY:
Today I stuck in the pictures I printed off yesterday into my sketchbook and completed the titles of the sections ready for annotations and sketches. I intend on drawing from the actual books so that I can fully understand the way in which the artists go about creating their characters, and I will read through the books completely before annotating so I can fully relate it to what I want to do.

I also watched The Road to El Dorado and made the following notes on how the film shows:

Native Mesoamerican Artwork:
Block colours. Curves and circles. Shapes within shapes. Borders and layers.

Native People:
Olive skin, big lips and dark hair, left long and unadorned. Wearing elaborate headdresses like artwork, with feathers. Big chunky ear piercings like squares with curved corners. Wearing loin cloths and loose fitting, unelaborate clothes, except for the priest and chief. Priest has face paint - red streaks over his eyes.

Native Animals / Plants:
Jaguars, butterflies, snakes, armadillos, monkeys, piranha, and bright coloured, exotic birds. Vivid green plants and big leaves and vines. Rich jungle. Fantasy animals used to enhance the 'lost city' look of the film include giant turtles used to ferry people across water and brightly coloured, long legged birds like giant herons.

Customs and Traditions:
Huge, colourful festival to celebrate the gods. Tribute paid in the form of human sacrifices or gold. In the film this tribute is paid to a whirlpool symbolising Shebulba, the Mayan underworld, so this doesn't really apply to my research. People eating watermelons. Sport is a vertical hoop on a wall which a ball needs to be thrown through to score a point (I think this is a general mesoamerican sport, so I can apply it to my research).

Colours:
Very bright, vibrant. Golds (although the film centers on the 'lost city of gold' so the colour is stressed more than usual), greens, reds and yellows. Lively, bold colours.

Characters:
The film centers on their friendship and journey together. Personalities contrast but are a duality, like yin and yang, completing eachother. Miguel is romantic and adventurous, while Tulio is down to earth and cynical. Chel's role is as a sort of side kick, love interest and test of their friendship. The priest is a villain, showed plainly enough through his sharp, shark like features, use of 'dark magic', involvement with the jaguar (he brings the jaguar statue to life and the temple guards where jaguar skins). He is also tall, thin and boney, which makes him seem cold and sly. The chief, however, is softly spoken and fat, making him look warm and gentle, and is seen playing with children very often, all of which makes him seem kind hearted.

Mesoamerican Culture's role in the story:
El Dorado (the mythical city of gold) offers the main characters all the material riches they want, but the culture itself influences Miguel with its natural beauty and lifestyle. The material appeal of the gold is downplayed in favour of the richness of the environment, which portrays the message that material things aren't nearly as beautiful as the world around you, and living alongside it like the people of El Dorado are seen to do. It is also interesting to see that the mesoamericans here are seen as gentle and peaceful, with the exception of the priest, which makes a change to other films like Apocolypto and Indiana Jones where they are portrayed as violent and primitive.

WHAT I WILL DO TOMORROW:
Watch Apocolypto and make notes. Read the concept art books ready for annotations.

02.03.09 -- Rough characters/plot

WHAT I HAVE DONE TODAY:

So far today I have fully designed and implemented the layout for this blog, ready for me to start posting. I intend to post in it every day, whenever possible, editing it throughout the day if necessary to cover additional things I might do after college hours. Over the past couple of days I have decided on fixing my film's background and subject on the ancient Aztecs, so I've been researching a variety of information, focussing predominantly on mythology and religion at the moment. Also, yesterday I came up with a loose plot summary that I will tweak according to how my characters develop and how my research on story writing and plot elements effects the direction I feel I should be taking.

Currently, my ideas are like so:

Characters: Aztec Princess, 16 (personification of Itzpapalotl, warrior goddess. The obsidian butterfly, which symbolizes her transformation from princess to warrior)
Tezcatlipoca (Jaguar God, the Smoking Mirror, force of chaos and destruction)
Quetzalcoatl (Feathered Serpent God, force of benevolence)
Love interest (Warrior chieftain/Tlacocohcalcatl)

Plot: Princess wants to be a warrior, but is bound to marry an older man or chieftain. Her male friend, about the same age as her, wants to marry her but is turned down repeatedly. Finally he decides to go to Tezcatlipoca's temple to steal his Smoking Mirror as a gift for her, to show how much he loves her and so that she can see the future in the mirror, that they are meant to be together. This awakens Tez who, believing the boy to be a sacrifice, is awakened. He is offended by the 'poor sacrifice' (sacrifices to him are usually young men that live in luxury for a year, taking many wives and eating rich foods, and then stripped of it all before him in a lavish ceremony, not one lonesome, greedy boy) and, in his anger, kills the boy, destroys the village and everyone within it.


The Princess, however, had followed after the boy to try to stop him and so escapes Tez's wrath. She finds the boy dead and the mirror gone, so returns to her village to find it destroyed. Suitably upset, she tries to fight Tez who runs off into the jungle. She follows after, swearing to kill him. A montage follows, encapsulating a couple of years, where the Princess follows Tez who destroys village after village, with brief skirmishes with her.


Eventually she resigns herself to the fact that, as a mortal, she cannot kill a God. So she seeks out the temple of Quetzalcoatl to try to awaken him, hoping that as Tez's duality and twin, he might calm him. At the temple's village she meets her love interest, who protects her against the hatred of the masses for having 'released' Tez. They fall in love, but she still goes to the temple and sacrifices all of her belongings, praying for Quetzal to return balance to the world. Quetzal awakens and he and Tez fight incessantly, destroying the village in the process. Her lover tells her that she was reckless, that the two will fight forever until the world is destroyed. She finally realizes that, in order to restore balance, she has to sacrifice herself as the last survivor of the original massacre. Tez won't be satisfied until his original intention is complete. So she and her lover go back to Tez's temple and he sacrifices her to him, which calms the two gods who then return to their temples. Her lover goes on to build a temple for Itzpapalotl in her memory, as he believes that she was the mortal embodiment of the warrior goddess.

I also printed off the images for my research into Bolt and Wall-e (from the 'art of' books), The Dark Crystal, Charles Avery and some historical Aztec artwork.

WHAT I WILL DO TOMORROW:
Tomorrow I will stick in the images I printed as my research and annotate them accordingly. I will also watch The Road to El Dorado, an animated film which meshes together both Mayan and Aztec traits, and make notes on it to go in my sketch book and to be posted here.