Existing Showreel Influences

Potential employers receive many similar looking show-reels on a daily basis, often skimming over submissions and looking for something to grab their attention and stand out from the crowd. I decided to have a research of existing show-reels that I feel break the norm and make an impact. I will try to apply some key aspects of these reels to my own piece to create something that will impress employers and make my portfolio memorable.

'Sam Westall Concept Art Showreel'

While I believe this artist could have put more varied original work into his show-reel, I was drawn to it as a whole because of the soundtrack he used which varied with each sketch and added emotional context to his images. The 3D effects he layered over the work created interest and some excitement for the viewer and gave off the impression of movement and action in an otherwise still image. These combined helped the drawings to tell a story without animating them

'Tiago Hoisel CGI Illustration Reel'

This artist has a very noticeably unique style which he enhances through the design of his show-reel. Not only does it improve the viewers experience while they look at his artwork, but it also showcases the artist's talents further and highlights his creativity in all aspects. It shows how the artist considered a 3D extension to his 2D work and how he has knowledge of various roles in the industry and can design his work to suit a 3D environment.

Key Features of my Showreel Piece

Colour

 Consider the power of colour and experiment with the use of it. Ask what the colour choices say about the character.

Lighting

Use lighting to create a mood and an atmosphere. Lighting can change the audiences perception of a character's personality; think how I want the character to come across to viewers.

Composition

Think about strong composition and posing to create a character that is eye-catching and leaves the audience wanting to know more about him/her/it.

Style

Experiment with different art styles. Be versatile and interesting by offering a range of different interpretations of a character.

Expression

Show the character in a variety of moods and situations that affect the way he/she/it is reacting to different situations. Create a unique personality.

Tools and Methods

For the initial design of my character I will use a program called Painttool Sai; I am very comfortable and familiar with its interface and regularly create my artwork on it. I have created my own custom brushes within the program which give a sketchy, hand drawn texture which is perfect for the look I want to go for on my characters.

Below is an example of the brush I shall use. The above word is in the program's basic brush, and below is my custom brush which gives a hand-written, worn effect.

I have used this brush for character design drawing before, and I have been very pleased with the outcome. Below are some examples of the brush in action.

The three drawings show the brush used cleanly, then more stylised and then even more so in the last picture. I will design my characters more similarly to the last picture although will push it and see how far I can go with the rough texture. I will also use a similar effect to texture the final models.

I am planning to use blended to create low poly models of my characters. I found a few tutorials online that cover the basics of low poly modelling that I will use to teach myself the basics before experimenting to discover what works best for my show-reel piece. These are the two tutorials I have decided will be the most useful for my project.

I will then colour grade and touch up my final character designs using Photoshop.

Existing Media Influences

Firstly I decided to look at existing media in the children's animation industry- I chose four shows that are aired over 'Disney Channel' and 'Cartoon Network'. They all appeal to me personally in terms of character and concept design as I feel they are unique and memorable. These shows are:

'Gravity Falls'

'Adventure Time'

'Steven Universe'

'The Amazing World of Gumball'

When put next to each other like so, it is very easy to recognise a trend in their design. Bold black outlines, bright block colours, small body parts and large facial features make up a majority of the designs. The characters cast shadows, but do not have any on their bodies, apart from the occasional gradient used to emphasise the colour. Because the shows are aimed at young viewers, these key aspects make it easy for the children to understand and read the storyline through emphasised body and facial expression.

The minimalistic design also means that children will remember the characters vividly and even may be able to recreate them through drawings of their own. It also allows for a large range of merchandise to be created from the brand, as the colours and simple lines can be adapted into a range of items.

Away from the children's tv industry, I am also heavily influenced by the art style of 2.5D. Good examples of this style can be seen in the 'Walt Disney Animation Studios' shorts:

'Feast'

'Paperman'

Not many children's tv shows have adopted the 2.5D style but I predict that it will become a lot more common in the near future. It is a style that showcases the sketch-like natural flow of the artist's hand-drawn lines, but combines it with 3D juxtaposing it with clean lines and a glossy Hollywood-esque finish.

I would like to combine this style with the 'Cartoon Network' style to create a simple and appealing set of characters that showcase artistic flair through their design. I could re-create this by creating a low polygon 3D model in Maya, and then applying 2D hand drawn textures to the UV Map.

I would love to be able to create something along the lines of the characters seen in the popular game:

'The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker'

This style is unique and aesthetically very beautiful. It was a huge difference from the rest of 'The Legend of Zelda' franchise in terms of art style and became very popular amongst fans. I believe that is a good representation of a mix of my two influences as it contains low poly models with hand-drawn looking 2D textures with block colouring and large cartoon like features. I will use all of these sources as inspiration for my own set of characters.

Project Brief: Animation Specialism

Profession

Concept Artist (Character)

Industry

Film (TV)

Inspiration

I am particularly inspired by the various children's cartoon series than run on 'Cartoon Network'. In terms of design, they are unique, memorable and aesthetically pleasing. They break the norm of character design and play on the weird and diverse to create something that is interesting and beautiful in its own way.

I have chosen to focus on three shows; 'Adventure Time', 'The Amazing World of Gumball' and 'Steven Universe' as well as 'Disney Channel's' 'Gravity Falls'. Amongst other examples within film and video games that influence me, I will draw inspiration from these shows that I believe are pioneers for modern character and concept design within the children's animation industry.