WOODLAND CHARACTER: Sketches

Sketches & Designs

I started by sketching some ordinary animals based on my research and the images I'd gathered.

Then, based off the folklore and creatures from media I'd gathered I tried to design a character and prop.

Of these designs I thought a bear was the best idea as it can stand on it's back legs in order to carry the lantern I had designed. He is supposed to be an intimidating character but I thought my drawings looked a little bit too fluffy and cute.

I made a short animation of this version of the character to help me think about how he would look in his home, the dark part of the forest, with his lantern prop.

I altered the design to include scars. This makes him less "cute" and also demonstrates that the forest he lives in is very dangerous.

AX2001 BRIEF THREE: Developing Ad Idea

Improving the "Testimonial" Advert Idea

Ad is in a simple testimonial style using actual quotes from customer testimonials to inspire the script.

There is a couple in their pyjamas at the breakfast table looking happy and rested.

They talk about how their nights used to be disrupted by snoring over a humorous/exaggerated scene where both people alternate keeping each other awake with their snoring.

They both have different types of snoring but found a solution to suit them from Snoreeze.

The ad ends with showing the range of products and narration stating natural ingredients and 8 hour action.

 

For the character designs I considered the target audience. This is a husband and wife couple in their mid 30's who live together in the city and have middle-class/higher earning jobs. The husband is a teacher and the wife works in PR. I feel these characters will be relatable to potential Snoreeze customers.

This is the storyboard I drew for the advert. I worked from the script I had written and added the timing based on a simple run-through I did of the lines. I was pleased to find that it fits easily into 30 seconds.

Storyboards and group work

When the testimonial ad was chosen I was given the job of animator and director with Rosie as colouring artist, Jake as an animator and Julian as sound design. Unfortunately due to some problems with the other groups, our group was cut down to just Rosie and I. After meeting with Snoreeze representatives, the first thing they asked for was a clearer storyboard so I took on that job as it is my script.

Rosie sorted a colour palette for the backgrounds and also wrote up a schedule for our team.

This is the animatic that we will be animating from. We had drama students act out the parts and have begun to source music and SFX.

WOODLAND CHARACTER SCULPT: Research

RESEARCH

Firstly I looked at forest animals that interested me. I tend to prefer fluffy carnivores but I also looked at some non-hunters as well. I looked mainly at British Woodland species as these are much easier to get first-hand research of but I also looked at the animals found in Yellowstone National park in America as it is a place that has always fascinated me. They also have a larger range of large predators that are dangerous to humans as those have been wiped out in the UK for centuries.

To get a feel for the habitat of my creature I went to the nearest park and took many reference photos of trees and woodland areas. This makes it much easier to picture a creature interacting with this environment.

I am a huge fan of folklore and mythical creatures so I researched and gathered some images from my favourite tales and beasts. 

Included here is the Church Grim/Black Dog which lives in graveyards and predicts death; dark fairies which live in the woods and play tricks on travellers; phooka/puca which is a scruffy shape shifting black animal which decides to trick you or help you based on how well you treat it.

They tend to be quite dark but most were originally written with children in mind so I think it would be much more interesting to have a non-cutesy character and have one instead to frighten children.

After deciding to create a darker children's character I looked up examples of monsters in the media are made to be scary yet still appropriate for child viewers.

I remember being terrified of Gmork (from the Neverending Story) when I was a child but it didn't affect me negatively, in fact it made the film/book more enjoyable.

I also enjoy characters like the Hide Behind (from Gravity Falls) who doesn't threaten to cause physical harm yet still manages to be utterly creepy.

I don't want to invent a violent/harmful character but I do want to make it unpleasant/produce feelings of fear.

To fit in with my ideas I went back to the same park from before and took photos at night. I like how everything looks completely different and much less welcoming than before.

This is definitely the kind of environment I'd like for my character as it reflects the qualities I want to bring out.

AX2001 BRIEF TWO: Writing & Design

3 Ideas with Research and Synopsis