Final Animatic For This Version >:)

This will be the final animatic for this version of my thesis...

But that is not a bad thing! 

Coming to the end of the semester, I realized that I fought too hard to make this version work. I believe I can tell a better version of this story in half the time. I really had taken some time to look at other independent films and saw what mine was missing. I need to refocus on the essence of the story and simplify it. It is better to tell one amazing gag than 10 mediocre gags. And most importantly, find the heart of the story.

This is not the end, but the realization of what I have to do next!

Stay tuned!

-Don

Scene Two

Here is a work in progress on scene 2.

Storyboard

 

Animation in progress

 

-Don

Scene Three Revisited!

So I decided to have another try at the sun in scene 3. I think He still can use some more contrast. Probably put a little more orange in him, but I think the style is way more effective. 

Also, Here are some background elements I created in Photoshop. 

 

 

Update!* I added just a little more orange to the sun to give it some more contrast.

 

Yay!

 -Don

New Animatic: Now with sound!!!

Here is the latest version of the animatic. I also added some sound to support the action. In the next couple of weeks I will add some of the finished scenes to the animatic.

Enjoy!

-Don

Scene 5: Scary Cactus!!!

I'm currently working on a simple key frame animation for scene five. This scene illustrates how dried out the cactus is and supports the fact that he needs water. Here is my process so far.

Boards

Painting Elements

Simple Animation(Without Background)

The finished scene will be posted soon!

-Don

More Animating!!!...

Not a ton to report at this point. Finally have my cactus rigged up, and now I'm just animating...

...And animating...

But don't get me wrong, I love it!!! Its just a lot of work.

-Don

Cactus Rigg!!!

This week has been committed to building riggs. Here is the progress so far. The Cactus is almost done, and the sun is 99 percent complete! Next week there should be actual animation to show!!!

Animation & Storyboarding!

Currently working on some animation test along with revising storyboards. Here is an animation test, and a sample of the revised boards I have currently been working on.

Animatic 2 and Snake Design!!!

Here is the second version of the animatic. I have one more scene to fix up, but its ready to animate. Also, I HAVE A SNAKE DESIGN!!!

Finally!!! First pass of the animatic!

I know the resolution is low, but this is only the first pass, there will be plenty of more versions to come!

That Dang Bird!

This whole week was about finalizing the design and color for the bird. This had taken way longer than I expected, but I have narrowed it down to two color schemes. Both the ones that have the high saturated yellow Backgrounds. Also as you see above, I started to develop a look to the environment. It is highly influenced by Maurice Noble's work. I needed to see how the characters would look in this style of environment.

Perfecting the Cactus. Starting to refine boards.

This week, I started finalizing one the character designs. I believe I will do one character a week. I also developed a construction sheet, trying to see how the Cactus is constructed.

I also did a second pass on the first third of the film, right before the bird enters the film.

Final Silhouettes and Rough Boards!!!

This week I  tweaked the character designs, and finally roughed the whole film out in Storyboard Pro. Next step is to make character model sheets, and also tweak/refine the storyboards.

Below I posted the updated silhouettes, and also the rough boards for the film!

Figuring out Silhouettes and Refining Thumbnails.

 This week was all about finding the right silhouettes for the three characters. Now the character designs will probably change a bit, but the silhouettes will be about the same. Below are the three that I enjoyed the most.

 Here are some more doodles leading up to the three silhouettes I had chosen.

 ...And finally, here are some notes I made on the story. The next step now will be jumping into storyboard pro doing rough boards.

First Post!!!! Getting Started!!!

Today is the first week of production on my senior thesis, "The Cactus and The Faucet"(working title).   This week and next week will be committed to tying down the story, and to get an idea on what the characters will/could look like. Below I've posted some storyboard thumbnails, and I also posted ideas for the two main characters, cactus and the bird.