Tuesday, April 10, 2007

jack & the beanstalk



Hey dela,

I had some time to elaborate more on the jack and the bean stalk idea we were working on in class.

For jack, I really wanted him to be tall and lanky. I want him to resemble a bean stalk like shape, so when he climbs up it would really be fun for the animator as he swings arround and fits into different cracks within the plant. Almost as if he was made for the beanstalk. His hair also resembles a leaf, and similar to ariels in little mermaid, its a big shape in the front - so when ever we see him from an angle, it automatically creates asymetry. I am having some difficulty with his costuming and some proportions, so help on that, or anything else would be great.

For the giant, since he steals, I tried different ways hat he could disguise himself. For my final solution, i thought he could lay down and become a part of the landscape as he sneaks up on his targets. the head could silohuette as the moon, arms and legs as trees, and his body as grass. He also has fences and bridges that he has stolen before on his body to help his disguise. Any help would be great.

If any other classmats have comments or suggestions, that would be great too. Thanks!

OH yes, and color is something i cant decide on. Do you have any other artist to recommend for inspiration or color palette?

nigel





3 comments:

JP said...

Hey Nigel,

I still think you could push the shape of your giant to differ from Jack more. It looks to me like he is an older fatter version of jack since he has such long lanky arms and the skinny head. I remember you saying he is supposed to be mountain-like, so perhaps he can be more like a mountain you would see in the craggy areas of the Alps. Maybe he could be like Machu Picchu. Mountains are usally associated with strength and timelessness. There are also those really skinny tall moutains in China. Maybe to be more sneaky he could plant himself and let unwitting victims ascend him? These are just some ideas I had, and hopefully you will be able to find them useful in some way.

Peace!

Dela Longfish said...

Nigel,

Good start man, I like that you are still making progress on this story. I like your thinking about story and character even keeping in mind the silhouettes. I love all the houses and fences on the giant, nice touch.

I agree with what John-Paul mentioned. I also really like the idea of the giant sneaking up by looking like mountians. I did a quick sketch of him sneaking up on a house. Maybe that makes him a hunch back with this huge mass on his back with the houses on there as well. Unknowing people could even walk on his back, like the Shadow of the Colossus.

With Jack long and lanky works as one direction. The sketch I did is just to demonstrate incluing shapes and volumes. Instead of just having tall and skinny you can have large shapes/volumes in his clothes that will contrast his skinny limbs. I think that will sell his thin build and also let you include shapes to build nice visual intrest. I think that will also give you room to build your porportions so it feels like the legs support his mass.

For costume, remember that he's poor. (they need to sell the cow for money.) As far as story it's up to you, is he a dunce/lazy or well intentioned and good hearted?

Color. Again it's up to you. If you want a hopeful story you can go with brighter colors you see in a lot of fantasy stories, Disney Pixar. If you want the more drama and a more somber tone, look at Children of Men.

Artists. Look at Enrique Fernandez, Peter Clark, and again Robin Joseph.

Nigel Li said...

Thanks so much guys. I also talked to bunny and she gave pretty much the same advice. I think i know where to take it from here. I guess my problem here was I didnt want to let go of my first idea, and that killed my designs for the characters when it came to a whole. I will post some revisions once i get it done.