Minor Project: Character Expressions

From my previous expression sheet, I had the base of my character to always be smiling. I even did some sad faces with that base shape but unfortunately it is unsuccessful because the cheeks were so supposed to droop a little. Hence, for this set of expression sheets, I tried maintaining the volume she has on her cheeks and explored on the facial expressions. I also tried drawing a couple of expressions from different angles.

Minor Project: Animatics Version 2 with Professional Voice Over

This is still my second version of animatic but with the professional voice over instead. We are currently working on the pitch and tones of the narration.

Minor Project: Animatics Version 2

This is my second version of my animatics, taking into consideration all the feedback I've received. I think everything reads better in comparison to my previous animatic. 

Autodesk Maya Class: Character Poses (Part 2)

I find it quite challenging to figure out either the before or after our key pose that we had previously. That said, this is what I have.

Minor Project: Character Poses

I did some character poses to help me understand my character a little bit more.

Minor Project: Animatics Version 1 (Part 2)

This animatic is the second part of the poem.

I As for the narrator, I was able to secure a voiceover artist, Gayanne Potter, that I'll be working with for this project. She will be sending me some samples once she record the poem and we will work from there, tweaking the intonations/ pacing as and when needed. Hence, I have used the voice I had recorded prior to contacting Gayanne.

Minor Project: Character Sketches

For my character, I have decided that I would like to have her curvaceous and chubby so I've started some initial sketches to explore her in different clothes and shoes. 

I've also sketch some expressions to give myself a sense of her character.

Minor Project: Animatics Version 1 (Part 1)

I've spent some time looking into the poem further like how old was Jenny when she wrote (She was 29) and how as a middle age woman, I tried to interpret how she would see herself when she's old. In my interpretation, I see my character to be a stylish old granny (around the age of 60) but youthful at heart. So this is what I've got so far as how the animatics would go. 

I don't quite like the opening shot but I am thinking  if should have the start and the end of the whole animation as a loop.

In terms of the character design, I have narrowed it two types of women:
1) Short and chubby
2) Tall and awkward

Autodesk Maya Class: Practicing Poses of a Character

For today's lesson, we were tasked to use the rigged characters we've downloaded off the internet and pose them into 5 different action poses. Here's my action poses.

With this chubby character, I did find there were limitations because he had short legs, big feet and extremely huge tummy. However, I did enjoy the lesson as I learn to try work around with the limitations I had and improvise. I especially love the yoga pose!

Minor Project: Character 1 (Old Lady Sketches)

When trying to come up with designs for my first character (The fashionable old lady), I had her characteristics in mind.

Her Characteristics:

- Chatty

- Cheerful / Light Hearted

- Confident

- Expressive (Always smiling/ Making silly faces)

I wanted to push the designs in terms of the face shapes and these were the designs that I had came up with. 

I quite like #4, #15 and #18.

Minor Project: Inspiration for the world

In terms of the world for my animation, I was thinking of incorporating both 2D and 3D. Examples as per videos.

Minor Project: Character Influences

To help me with my design in creating an old lady character, I went to search for fashionable old lady as I did not want my character to have the stereotypical look. I have also looked at how my grandma dresses herself to give me the inspiration I needed.

Minor Project (Post Tutorial)

After talking to Alan, it was suggested that I focus my animation around the "Stay Young at Heart" theme. So it would be like 5 characters, doing 5 daily things but one character's action opens the window to the next character's action. Example would be an old woman dancing in the rain and jumps on to a puddle of water. When the water splashes, it brings us to the next character singing in the shower and so on. However, I had an element that was lacking to tie everything together so I had a chat with Phil to get his perspective. In our conversation, he suggested that I looked into Jenny Joseph's Poem titled "Warning".

When I am an old woman I shall wear purple

With a red hat which doesn't go, and doesn't suit me.

And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves

And satin sandals, and say we've no money for butter.

I shall sit down on the pavement when I'm tired

And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells

And run my stick along the public railings

And make up for the sobriety of my youth.

I shall go out in my slippers in the rain

And pick flowers in other people's gardens

And learn to spit.

You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat

And eat three pounds of sausages at a go

Or only bread and pickle for a week

And hoard pens and pencils and beermats and things in boxes.

But now we must have clothes that keep us dry

And pay our rent and not swear in the street

And set a good example for the children.

We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.

But maybe I ought to practice a little now?

So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised
When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple

I think in this poem, I was able to find the element that was lacking in my initial idea and hence, I have decided to do an adaptation of this as it both visually descriptive and it still has the "Stay at Young Heart" vibe that I want in my animation.

Below are the parts I've extracted from the poem which I would like to adapt and create an animation on. 

When I am an old woman I shall wear purple

With a red hat which doesn't go, and doesn't suit me.

And sit down on the pavement when I'm tired

And eat three pounds of sausages at a go

And run my stick along the public railings

And make up for the sobriety of my youth.

I shall go out in my slippers in the rain

And pick flowers in other people's gardens

And learn to spit.

But maybe I ought to practice a little now?

So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised
When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple

To make my character characterful, I will be looking into Margaret Rutherford, Betty White and the sitcom - The Golden Girls. In terms of the design aspect, I've looked into Belleville Rendezvous as I have envisioned my character to be a stylish old lady.

Minor Project Idea Development (Pre Tutorial)

Of the last three ideas I had, I gave a deeper thought for the topic I wanted to look deeper into. So I came up with the possible things that an old man would still be doing that is still childish as I am going for the "Stay at young heart" vibe.

The two videos below were my inspiration of what I could possibly have in my animation.

 

Possible Opening Scene: A framed note and picture of a boy pasted at the corner hanging on the wall that says "Dear Future Me, Please remember to stay youthful and act as a kid sometimes. It's healthy. Love, your 10 year old self." The setting of the animation would be in the house where this old man does silly things eg: Sweeping the floor and have his socks on. Slides across the living room and when he sees his reflection, it's the little boy.