Black and White Environment Prop Illustrations

When designing our environments we often don't think about the smaller details that can dress a scene to make the theme work. I have started making some observations of objects that could be in a Western environment so that I can quickly model these later on knowing I already have this reference and have a better knowledge of the objects. Also some of the reference to buildings and architecture is important also.

More Character Style Reference

I thought some of these illustrations had a nice style and also a nice feel to them. Could have some affect on how our characters move or are posed but also good for the tone of the animation in terms of colour and grading.

Fratelli's Black 'n' Blue Eyes Music Video

Some really nice reference here both for character posing and style of animation. The style is alot more simple than we would be aiming for but the animation is really nice with some quirky movements that look really effective. Definitely good to look at. Also I really like the grading which has a kind of orange / sunset tone throughout.

Character Reference

Some nice character animation here which would be good to refer to later on when refining and finessing animation but thought it would be good to note it down now. The first one is from an animation Matt has already found but this was an earlier test which wasn't used in the final film.

The second one almost seems a bit like our bandit proportion wise and I like the ganglyness of his arms as he falls, nice follow through and weight.

Western Animation Shorts

These are some animations I have found online for some extra inspiration into the mood of the West. I don't think we have come across these ones yet. Worth a look though.

Schedule WC 10/11

This is the schedule for this week. This is the last week for everyone to really finish environment concepts and then we need to get on to blockouts. Tony and Matt have a couple of weeks still to finish expression and character pose drawings and then we will start making up the mood boards for the group pitch.

Train Concepts

These train concepts show some of the key scenes as the train exits the mines and then when the trains uncouple. I really like some of these dramatic camera angles which focus the energy in the shot and show the pace of the action more intensely. The train exiting the mines is my preferred one and if we can get smoke looking nice in 3D i think this shot will look amazing.

Jail Cell Concept

This is an idea I have for this final scene in the jail cell where the bandit has been caught. I think the camera could pan in slowly and twist from this angle and it really demonstrates the loneliness of the character at this point. Also making the cell really gritty I think will add to the mood of the final shots.

Water Tower Concept 2

This concept shows how the bandit could jump down from the water tower and then take a run up to make the jump to the roof of the train. I think this is important to establish this environment as it does feature for a fair amount of the film length. But I like this style of water tower and the idea of a shack next to it which could be battered and abandoned could feature quite nicely to set the scene up.

Field Trip Research: Chislehurst Caves

These are photos taken at Chislehurst Caves this week as research for our mines location. Got some good textures to use aswell which will act as good reference. Also very good for how to model rockfaces etc inside the mine and also adding some subtle features to the walls of the caves in 3D.

Initial Budget

This is a rough budget for our show. As you can see the final costs could be quite expensive. Doing the 360 raffle could be really good and I think doing this will raise alot of cash for us. Also doing it before Xmas might give people more incentive to win a prize. Must do this in the next 2-3 weeks ideally.

Water Tower Concept

The water tower is a very important environment as it has alot of screen time. I have made it quite large but also very solitary to show the bandit is hiding somewhat. I thought the idea of having a little rotting shack would work better with the narrative of him jumping down from the tower and getting a run up to jump onto the train roof. The ricketty shack could also unbalance him causing him to slip and slam into the train roof. Overall the concept is really nice and I like the structure of the tower although it could be more stylised with the wooden supports etc.

Prison Concepts

These are a couple of prison concepts I've worked on. I like the idea of having a very simple fortress kind of structure. It looks quite menacing especially with the smaller cell windows and this could look really nice as our final shot before the credits. Also the concepts give a good impression of how the colouring can change the mood. We have a lot of artistic license with the shades in the sky and we will definitely use this to full advantage in final renders etc to get the mood and tone of the film right.

Mine Concepts

These 2 concepts show the interior of the mines. I have tried a couple of examples using tracks intertwining and weaving through one another which I quite like, especially with the wooden structures built around other tracks. Seems very mazy and quite rollercoastery. I think having the mines more enclosed like the concept with the black round the edge will frame the shots better and give a feeling of claustrauphobia almost in the shots.

This entry shot to the mines is one of my favourite concept pieces. I really like the towering blocks of rock around the entrance and also the way we can have lots of props like mine carts and signs lining the entry will really give the environment depth. Overall I think this could be a really interesting area to develop alot more fully and potentially devote more screen time to in the animatic.

Desert Concepts

The 2 concepts above are of a kind of Western village that could be in the background as the wanted poster blows past in the opening shot. I have tried to incorporate the water tower but since doing this we have decided the tower should be more solitary away from the town and out in the middle of the desert more.

This concept is more of a shot before we get to the mines but a nice environment all the same showing a small creek that the train can cross a bridge to get over. This could look quite cinematic and further show off the Western style environments etc. I really like the way this small piece of environment could link the flat plains of the desert to the more rocky terrain of the mines that would essentially be in a more mountainous region or area. Also I like the fact we could have small flashes of plants and cacti in the environment to make it more colourful and not too drab and lifeless.

New Schedule

This is a view of what the new schedule now looks like. I have extending it all the way to the end of the project including the marketing we have in mind. I have also colour coded it better to show each stage of the production more clearly. Ideally I will update the schedule weekly with the progress we have made and the new re-assessed deadlines and targets as our workflow progresses.

I will also be emailing this on a weekly basis to all group members. I feel this is very important as a producer to keep people on track with their workloads.