Character Interactions

House Speedpaint 2

House - 2nd of 2

I like this one muuuuch better, though I wish I had spent more time on the shadows. The different items in the house aren't all the same color and managed to get some nice depth. More table items might have looked nice, and I totally forgot to add a few chairs to the table. Some scratches in the floorboards might have been a nice touch too.

House Speedpaint 1

House - 1st of 2

Got stuck on a specific theme again rather than varying it a bit. Don't really like that all the big furniture is the same color. Maybe doing something else with the roof might have looked better--it is supposed to kind of be a cottage.

Village Speedpaint 3

Village - 3rd of 3

I fell a little bit behind. Used the perspective grid again; it came out a little bit better the 2nd time around. I didn't plan out the scene very well. I ended up not knowing what I wanted to focus my attention on and spread it across the board again.

Village Speedpainting 2

Village - 2nd of 3

Approx. 4 hrs
Trying to limit the time I spend on each so I focus more on blocking in the scene.
Went ahead and used a perspective grid this time. Didn't take as long to make as I had originally thought, so I'll use it again in the next one. Lightened up the scene for the village. I'd prefer it to be a cheery, bright sort of place. Sort of frustrated with the similarity of the houses. I need to add some defining characteristics and shapes to differentiate. Probably need to add more landmarks, too, like a well and market signs and such. Might focus on a flowery market area for the next, or focus on one house in particular and add the market in the background.

Village Speedpainting 1

Village - 1st of 3

I may have rage quit this one. I think I was overwhelmed with all the detail I wanted to capture, but got frustrated and neglected all of it for the sake of blocking in the basic look. There's a frustrating lack of perspective, but having this kicked out helps me see what I'm wanting from the next two. I think this will help me better nail down the perspective in the future. The entrance way of the village has been a set image in my head for a long while, but I didn't quite reach it with this piece. I think I'm going to stop focusing on the surrounding landscaping and reach inside the village. More organic shaped housing and decoration.

Valley Speedpainting 3

Valley 3rd of 3

Focused more on blocking in the environment and building perspective. Lowering my horizon line and raising the mountain may have made a stronger image. Found a nice way to speckle and texture the rocks. Wish I would have incorporated some warmer colors in, but I like the foggy look.

Valley Speedpainting 2

Valley - 2nd of 3

I like the diffused, foggy look better in this one, but the shadows are too dark and colorless. I can see now that I didn't break away from the shadows of the forest frame foreground. I think that's what got me.
Had to stop working on this one too. Too absorbed in detail again. Didn't let go of the original color pallet. But I like how this one creates depth of field. I will try to carry that one into the next one.
The background clouds are a manipulated photo.

Valley Speedpainting 1

Valley - 1 of 3

3 hours, I think? This one came much more naturally. Switched up my brushes, stopped fussing over detail, and used several more layers to divvy up the work. Much happier with the results.

Forest Speedpainting 3

Forest - 3 of 3

An actual speed-painting
1 hour and 30mins of work, no references

Forest Speedpainting 2

Forest - 2 of 3

Not sure this qualifies after working on it, off and on, for 3 days.
The background is a blurred out reference image.
The piece is incomplete, but spending more time on it sort of defeated the purpose of speed-painting.

Forest Speedpainting 1

Forest - 1 or 3

Alma's Cave Speedpainting 3

Alma's Cave -3 of 3

Alma's Cave Speedpainting 2

Alma's Cave - 2 of 3

Alma's Cave Speedpainting 1

Alma's Cave - 1 of 3

Animation Summary

Alma, a young magic user, is dying from a terminal illness. In desperation she turns to black magic and confers with the demon, Jael, who instructs her to bring to him the heart of a person who can produce a heart song. He wants to eat the heart, and in return he will use the song’s magic to save her. He bestows to her a dagger to use to remove the heart. This will also allow her to hear the song, which is produced by people who are experiencing true peace, extreme luck, or love.

She goes out in search of it, stumbling upon an engaged couple who are producing the song, but she’s scared and can’t commit to the kill. The Heart Man sees everything and takes pity on her thinking she’s a sick orphan down on her luck. He takes away her dagger, and brings her home with him. There he puts her to work, feeds her, and gives her a place to stay. During her stay, she finds out that the couple has suddenly broken up, and Alma has to search for another heart song.

She uses the Heart Man to help her look around in places she thinks she may find one (he keeps the dagger on his person during the day and hides it by night) but to no avail. He doesn’t seem to hear anything as far as she can tell. During their time together, they form a familial sort of affection for one another. This is fulfilling for Alma, but doesn’t solve her immediate issue. She decides to steal back the dagger and leave.

One night while searching the Heart Man’s room, she finds it, and hears the heart song of the Heart Man. Because of their time together and his kindness, she’s unwilling to take his heart. She runs home, with the heart man secretly following behind her. In her home she confers with Jael again to ask for help. In the middle of their exchange, the Heart Man enters the premise and Jael hears his heart. He urges her to take it, but because of her fondness of him, she refuses. In that moment, Jael puts her into a deep sleep and negotiates with the Heart Man sensing an opportunity. The Heart Man agrees to relinquish his heart in exchange for Alma’s life.

When Alma wakes up, all the candles are out and the room is silent. Her illness is gone and she is visibly healthier. When she starts to get up, she finds the body of the heart man slumped against the wall. She picks up the dagger, realizing what happened. The dagger enables her to hear her own heart song, which is the same as the Heart Man’s before he died.

Project Proposal

Semester Project Proposition

             

  I would like to use the Fall semester to produce five conceptual sceneries geared toward finalizing the environment for my personal 2D animation project, “Heart Song.” Each of the landscapes is a setting from a scene in the animation, with influences from the Scottish Highlands.

Sceneries:

1.      Witch’s home (inside)

a.      Cavern

b.      Oaken furniture

c.      Gaelic symbolism and witchcraft props

2.      Witch’s home (outside)

a.      Forest cavern

b.      Influences:

                                                    i.     Ariundle Oakwoods

3.      Highland valley (area between forest and village)

a.      Influences:

                                                    i.     Isle of Skye

4.      Village

a.      Influences

                                                    i.     Clearance Village, Strathnaver

                                                   ii.     Garenin

                                                  iii.     The Old Bridge of Carr

5.      Inside cottage

a.      Thatched cottage

b.      Influences:

                                                    i.     Garenin