StoryBoard-30/07

Here's my storyboard at its current stage. After looking at it more closely there are shots that I can scrap for more time on other shots. Also there are some that need to be tweaked a little to be more effective. Let me know what ya think in the comments or in person. Cheers.

Character model sheet changes-29/07

Earlier today Keat suggested that I try some new things to make my character more cool and cutting. So this is me trying.

This one is the first cloak test covering the left arm and most of the

leg. I as though it would be better if it came closer to the center of his body though.

This is the second cloak test which i took further but as with the above test it would be better to bring it back to the center.

this is the first Hat test where I made it bigger going outwards. I think that this one is good and suits the time.

this one just looks stupid i feel as though with this hat he is going to do some magic tricks or something.

The final hat test i feel wasn't as good as the first but better then the second and is an option.

this is the test for Ace's collar. i feel that this is great and is reinforced visually by the cutout in the center of it.

Textures-29/07

Here are some textures I just whipped up. These are base textures not much needs to change from this.

Comment if you feel other textures are needed for my character.

Model Sheet- 28/07

Finally got the turnaround for my character, Ace, done. Some things I would still like to change. Some things I forgot to add also like the holsters and guns on his side.

Colour tests-27/07

This is my character nearest its final design below are some colour tests.

Today I did some long overdue colour tests. The large one is the preferred version from the eight tests. This is the nearest version of my final character, hopefully I can have the model sheet done tonight, if I don't I can finish it in tomorrows class.

Expressions-24/07

Props-24/7

Finally did some gun stuff which is the prop for my character. As far as originality in the design of the pistols go it was very limited. The only differences between them were small features that are unimportant and design of patterns and symbols. So I thought what could I do to make these pistols simple but appear as if they were this characters own specials tools of death. The name of my character is ace so I thought the ace of spades. This card is generally thought of as the card with the highest value in the deck and in fairy tails and folklore it is often associated with the personification of death. So when I decided to have the handle of the gun white ivory I thought it would be cool to have an ace of spades card engraved into it in black.

Next I thought of the barrel and all i came to was having an engraved spiral down the barrel in the direction that the bullet spins. This would be symbolic of and represent him never missing his targets linking back with him being a western version of death.

I tried to figure out what I wanted to do with the symbol on the hilt and I went with the clubs with 'ACE' repeated around it. I liked the repetition of the word.

Here is a side. front and 3/4 view of the gun.

Character-22/07

Haven't been able to get much done lately due to a chest infection but I got quite a bit more done today.

I started off the day by drawing some faces to try get a feel for what he would look like. The first page I was trying to get a really strong manly look with a few alterations here and there.

The second page I tried to expand on this and got one I like in the bottom right drawing.

I then tried to draw hats that he would wear, even trying to see if a headband would work.

I tried some more hats and I felt the one I liked best was the small one on the second page due to its simplicity and the style of it.

The pants were always going to be extremely simple and straightforward. Men back in those times only seemed to where pants and the only difference being the color which often only had a few variations.

Next I came to the jacket. I felt that huge coat was to much for him and all the loose clothing it would make might cause complications in the rigging and animation of the character. So i went away from that on the get go and came up with the suit jacket above. It is extremely simple, however i imagined that the body of the jacket and the sleeves would be different material. Resulting in a different color.

Here I tried to draw the jacket above with a poncho half covering it. i like it but again with the complications of animation it.

Next I did the boots. these were simple as well. Most boots I noticed had lavish designs of fire and eagles on then but that is a bit too complicated for me. So I went with a normal boot with a metal shin guard.

I drew the head in more detail with the hat on and I do like it, except that it is a bit detailed. So I will do the hair and beard as one solid shape with lines representing the direction of the hair. I feel like that will be sufficient enough.

I tried to draw the character as full figure but unfortunately i'm not very good at drawing and so it came out with poor proportions. But I feel I have captured some sort of essence of what the character will look like. Tomorrow i will take a step back look at this and ask what can I do to make it simpler but more recognizable as a western character and try to apply it.

Story- 14/07

14/07
Today I decided on my sequence that I am going to adapt. I have chosen the bowling scene from "The Big Lebowski" and have chosen to adapt it to the 'Western' Genre from the 'Comedy' Genre. I considered others such as 'Sci-Fi' and 'Horror' as I felt that these three contrasted from 'Comedy' the most.

This will mirror the scene from "The Big Lebowski" and just as it does in that, it will represent a ritual that the character does before each shoot out.

I Decided on this because having another character makes it more difficult. The intention is for him to do it in the privacy of his own home or a bar, as if it were right before a shoot out.

I get inspiration from shows like "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" more specifically the character Cad Bane.

I really like the way the characters in that show are built and modeled to be more slender but have realistic proportions.

I constantly seek inspiration from directors such as Tim Burton (Corpse Bride, Nightmare Before Christmas) and Brad Bird (The Incredibles, The Iron Giant).

Concept Development-15/07

Today I began with visual research for my character. I looked at Star Wars characters, Cad Bane and Embo. I also looked at Deathstroke and a Western version of Batman. I still wish to further look into different styles and twists I can make on the classical western genre by testing elements of a steampunk or sci-fi nature.