The Story....so far

As this film is going to be experimental and isn't based on a script there's not really going to be a time when I have to pin down a story. But it's good to have a basic idea of what I want to happen in the small space of 2.5mins.

The whole basis of this idea was that i could just create something beautiful and flowy, set it to music, have Maera dance, and it would all be beautiful. But I just couldn't help developing just the smallest bit of storyline to help it along. SO! I'm kinda taking an approach where Maera is creating the sea life around her so that she can dance with them. I think the actual creating bit will be really lovely if I can do it. I've drawn out how i think some of the animation would go, but I'm yet to quickly test it in flash just to see. But here's a very rough picture of Maera creating a jellyfish.



There will be more to come, hopefully some rough animation tests to get the idea across, stay tuned

Maera

Maera is the name I gave to my mermaid. I've been drawing a bit more of her, though not as much as I would have liked due to illness, but I'm on the mend now and so able to upload a few things. Her design is subject to change, though I like how it is at the moment. The eel-like tail allows her to swim with the classic mermaid look without having a anatomically incorrect fish tail (which just gets to me) attached to her.

I chose all very sea-like colours for her, as I want her to be seen as belonging to the sea. Her top was originally much more detailed and sea-weedy, but for animation it was going to be easier to simplify it a bit, and just keep it that colour. So here's just a flat colour design of Maera.



I actually think she looks a bit stumpy in this now that I look at it, probably because I ran out of space on the page haha.

Another cool thing about Maera is that when she's interacting with things a different colour to herself, she takes on thier hue ever so slightly.

Pelagus Puella

Sea Maiden. Sooo....Phoenix is no longer happening at this present time, instead I will be doing a short (around 2.5 mins) musical, sometimes choreographed piece featuring a mermaid, hooray!!!

The great thing about it is it doesn't particularly have to have a story, it's going to be mainly an exploration of music, choreography and dance in the beautiful world of the ocean. The hardest part so far is creating my mermaid. Generally not something I struggle with, but as she needs to be animatable, I have to cut alot of my usual detail...but as Liam pointed out, there can be moments where she is very detailed and then she can easily be blurred as she shifts through the water, becoming one with it etc.

Anyway, I have many more ideas running through my mind but for now here's my first concept of her....she's not based on any particular fish like I usually do...I'll go into the reasoning for this design next post.



I love how her eyes are totally crooked :S

Just some more reference pictures for Phoenix. I've found a real location to loosely set it in, I figure it will be easier to create if I have somewhere real to base it on. So it's going to be in the Toowoomba, Gatton, Maryvale sort of area of Queensland...it's not overly populated, lots of wide open spaces, plus forests and it's fairly dry to boot, making it perfect for a bushfire.

Birds and their Ladies

Dusk Fae and Bee Eaters

Beautiful Books

I adore books...I always have, but nothing makes it hit home as much as when I visit Borders. The smell of coffee and paper hits you as soon as you walk in and it is just the most delightful thing. I went yesterday and came home with a new journal, a new diary, two novels, one being this very cool edition of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland



And a Little Golden Book - The Colour Kittens, a beloved classic of mine.



But no matter how many books I buy, there are still more that i want, leaving me with a wishlist for the next time...