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.
Thursday, 30 April 2009
Wednesday, 29 April 2009
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.
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.
Tuesday, 28 April 2009
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.
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.
Friday, 24 April 2009
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.
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.
Friday, 10 April 2009
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.
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.
Thursday, 9 April 2009
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.
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.
Wednesday, 8 April 2009
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.
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.
Tuesday, 7 April 2009
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.
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.
Monday, 6 April 2009
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.
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.
Saturday, 4 April 2009
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.
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.
Friday, 3 April 2009
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.
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.
Thursday, 2 April 2009
02.03.09 -- Rough characters/plot
WHAT I HAVE DONE TODAY:
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.
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:
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.
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.
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