16/07/15 - Concept Development

I was thinking about simplifying the design and started to make notations around the drawings and it quickly became apparent that I don't really know enough about clothing that pirates wear which makes it harder to design for. I need to be able to see the full reality of the clothing so I can boil it down and simplify it for animation purposes. This goal is to get a very low poly look to my work. I'm starting to think about other low poly media. I quite like high saturation in it. It's interesting how all of my thoughts are starting to build of each other. 

thinking about Rufus' design 

As a result of my thought process I went to wikipedia and discovered the privateers (an armed ship that is privately owned and manned, commissioned by a government to fight or harass enemy ships)* were around circa 16th-19th century so I searched in that era for appropriate clothing. I was searching for a 19th century pirate wearing some 18th century clothing due to cost and also my personal taste for this design. 

It was pointed out to me by the tutor that I need to research the plush toy called Bartholomew that the lonely pirate Rufus will be kissing; and so I went forth and found plush toys of the 19th century. I intend to think about the shapes that seem to be achievable around the time and apply them to a parrot due to the piratey theme of this adventure summed up in a short but sweet four second clip.

I'm quite fond of the lil bunny buddy in the top left corner, he looks like a pal

I then used the research I did to design Bartholomew. I think I need to consider if I absolutely want Bartholomew to be a toy parrot or not. He could be a gun, or a flask, or a telescope. Maybe he could even be a person that Rufus has been messaging in a bottle for help or romance; who knows. The possibilities are endless. I should probably write out a story for our brave protagonist to dig up more of his story and get some design thoughts out. 

I went away and had a good think about it by doing a brainstorm. I came up with a fairly satisfying reason for what's happening in the scene and it feels far less comedic and much more serious now. This is something I was struggling with before. It felt like I was just re-skinning a comedy, but with this plot about Rufus and Bartholomew there will be quite a melancholic tone to the piece. I think it's fair to say that the setting should be an island of some sorts that Rufus swam to with this toy that Bartholomew made. Now that I think about it; is a parrot really the best creature for this. I thought it would be a good idea because it would continue the pirate motif but it may not be up to Bartholomew's sewing skill set. Perhaps a mouse would have been easier; and mice were definitely a feature on board ships so that would relate to that part of the narrative.

Critiques

• Try focus a bit more on the prop that Rufus has

This is a good reminder that I need to focus on getting feedback and critique from people...

I'm making myself sad over those so I think this plot is working

I came across a beautiful animator called Masonobu Hiraoka and I'm so inspired by the colour palettes that they use.

from their video "in the sea and near a girl"

Their work very strongly brings to mind another great inspiration of mine called Sachin Teng.

Ideas

• For the water, I could have a plane that I put a video on of moving ocean colours that are very abstract and sorta reference impressionism. The colours could come from a Bouguereau painting. 

• Explore shot angles. I'm thinking a skyscape could be really cool and quite neat to capture in low poly with moving planes against a sky box gradient. 
• Thing is you can't do a desert island in the middle of the sea without a palm tree so I would have to consider that when designing for modelling. The palm tree would be the most complex part of the modelling and texturing process and will take extra time. But I suppose that's okay if all the other parts of the landscape are super easy to model due to being basic shapes or even just planes. 

I ran away and documented what I thought could be cool to work on for a setting.

The genre of this piece is Adventure; this genre typically includes "quests for lost continents, a jungle, mountain, island, urban and/or desert settings, characters going on a treasure hunts and heroic journeys for the unknown."  This genre often features kings, battles, rebellion, and piracy. An example of an Adventure film is the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' film series centered around Captain Jack Sparrow.

If Rufus didn't give the order for Bartholomew to be put to death, then that means Rufus is not the captain - and so, he shouldn't be dressed as the captain. This means the design needs to have no pirate hat. Find a way to show Rufus as a pirate without the captains hat; perhaps a facial scar? Also remember that Rufus swam away from the ship with just that mouse to die. He wouldhave removed heavy things from his person. Does that mean he would have kicked off his boots and removed his belt? Maybe add an ear piercing? He will retain, a shirt and his pants, and that mouse that he was given.