Work: Dancing Lawn

This scene originally only started out as another tree concept, but as I got into it it sort of developed into a whole scene.

The basis for the design is around the location called “Dancing Lawn” it doesn’t actually appear specifically in the Magicians Nephew but it does appear in some of the later books. It could however be incorporated in some way into our film adaptation.

I wanted to play more with the idea of natural geological formations rather than just looking at individual trees. I wanted the area to look like the natural stone had been forced up and then a giant tree had grown across the central expanse, creating a sheltered cave-like space. To link with the Dancing Lawn idea where Narnian creatures could gather and throw outdoor celebrations I’ve played with the Idea that they have built bridges to connect all the stone monoliths together, allowing access to the larger grassland area. Giant Mushrooms also grow on the white stone forming smaller platforms around the larger rocks.

I wanted to do some more sketching because I don’t really do much actual sketch rendering, I develop my designs through sketch but once I have the basic forms I then put it into the computer and run it through Photoshop. So I wanted to have a go a sketching a design to completion, if nothing just for my portfolio.

I then added some colouring in Photoshop and added some extra shadows for a more three dimensional feel. I’m quite pleased with it now it’s done, and it may become one of the visuals for the EXPO, as it’s the size of an A2 page.

Work: Some more Flora

The concept designs for some Narnian plants are getting nicely underway. Here are the latest developments in the world of plants.

These first sets of 4 trees are designed to be decorative trees. They are very well trimmed and naturally quite ordered in their appearance. They could be suitable for the Garden Scene I am designing for later but for the moment I’m quite happy with letting them sit on the back burner for a bit.

The Bare Birch is a nocturnal plant, in that during the day it looks like a leafless twig, but at night it comes alive, emitting a turquoise glow from its sap that gathers in pockets on its branches. This creates the illusion of glowing leaves, only visible in the darkness.

This is a Candelabra Birch. Still a member of the Birch species it has the distinct white bark. The Candelabra is so named because of its branch structure which forms vertical catkins that grow upwards like candles.

This is a Fire Bud Tree. Its delicate leaves grow upwards, matting together to create a plume-like head, which resembles a tongue of flame.

 

The final decorative tree is the Flowering Horn. This simple leafed bushy plant grows naturally into the pronged form, where a single rose-like flower blooms all year round. If the flower is removed the plant withers.

This walking tree is one of the talking trees chosen by Aslan himself to become part of the Council to help look after Narnia. Its distinct yellow colouring is present in all the council members, distinguishing them from the other inhabitants of Narnia.

This is my second rendering of the Glowing mushroom- I tried to soften some of the edges under the mushroom to make it look a bit more organic and less strait edged. I think it works better now these changes have been made.

This final plant is my first water based plant. The Semi-Aquatic Giant Lily grows out of the water until it suspends itself by its strong roots above the water’s surface. This plant still needs a little bit more of a back story about its purpose etc

Work: Some initial designs

Now we are on the final stint towards the MA we have started focusing our work down, organising what we are going to be doing for the EXPO and our final work submission.

I started off by working up my Water Lettuce design a bit, adding more detail to the render, incorporating some feeding examples, leaf structure etc. The idea for these designs would be that they are conceptual studies, designed to show an overview of possible flora the director could populate any scene with, therefore a back story and contextual information needed to be developed. So with each plant I will add a brief description and relevant information to paint a visual, verbal and analytical picture of the plants.

After producing the Water Lettuce layout, I talked it over with Hannah and we both decided it wasn’t laid out quite how we wanted. It looks too scientific and doesn’t bring across the idea of clockwork, exploration or In-situ observations. So we sat down and had a big discussion about the book, layout and general guidelines on presentation. The following is the layout board we created:

We outlined example page layouts for every page eventuality so that the process of putting the pages together would be easier. We also designed any extra details we wanted like the Clockwork Page Runner and its colour variations, the page background etc and we got a quote from a book printing company and stuck samples down of the paper types etc.

This is the first page we put together using the new layout. It has some key images of the main plant, an example of the flower, an example of a creature Hannah designed to dwell in the tree and some sketch development images of the creature. The key written information is then added outlining purpose, botanical information, height, habitat etc I like this page layout, the background is effective but not too overpowering. I still think it needs a little bit of work as it still doesn’t sit comfortably on the page but we will sort that later.

This is an initial rendering of a fungus I designed for Narnia. I have written some background information for it if it needs it but this particular plant might just be put in the book as a standalone image rather than a fully developed layout page.

 

Since finishing these we have done many more images and designs but I will update those onto here later.

Of Monsters and Men

This is a Music Video featuring Of Mice and Men. It was produced by a company called WeWereMonkeys    (http://weweremonkeys.com/)

Hannah and I are looking at it as a good style for our own Animatic for The Magicians Nephew. We like the quirky nature of it and the puppet-like style. Using real life elements and CG is how we envision the real production to be made so this links well...the songs awesome too!

Research: The Significance of Colour

The following colour information is largely taken from articles and studies from Colourmatters.com

(http://www.colormatters.com/color-symbolism/the-meanings-of-colors)

Red:

• In Greek past, Red has symbolised super-human heroism.
• Approximately 77% of flags contain the colour red.
• Red is an international colour for STOP.
• Red is the colour of good luck in China.
• Most Japanese children draw the sun as a big red circle (like their flag)
• Red captures attention hence why it is used on fire engines. Red focuses behind the retina in the eye which forces the lens to grow more convex pulling it forward- this then gives the illusion that red areas move forward.

Orange:

• Orange has been used to symbolise energy, vitality, cheer, excitement, adventure, warmth and good health, but it can also come across as a suggestion of lack of serious intellectual values or bad taste.
• Symbolic of autumn.
• Orange used on safety equipment like vests and traffic cones, is used because it stands out from its surroundings.

Yellow:

• Yellow is often associated with happiness, optimism, enlightenment, creativity, sunshine and spring.
• Yellow also has a darker side- cowardice, betrayal, egoism and madness. It also symbolises caution and illness.
• The human eye processes yellow first- which may be why emergency vehicles often use yellow or signs of caution.
• Yellow has a high light reflectance value so can be used as a secondary light source.
• The eyes Peripheral vision is 2.5 times higher for yellow then red.

Green:

• It has long been understood that green is a symbol for nature, growth, rebirth and fertility.
• The Green Man is a symbol of fertility in Paganism, Muslim countries use green as a holy colour, Ireland considers it lucky and during the Ming Dynasty in China it was said to be the colour of the heavens.
• There are more shades of green than any other colour, from yellowy greens to turquoise greens.
• It is suggested that green is the most restful colour for the human eye (handy seen as most of nature is green)
• The number of people who committed suicide by jumping off Blackfriars Bridge, London, dropped by 34% when it was painted green.
• If a woman takes a green M&M she is said to possess a heightened sexuality.

Blue:

• Blue has more complex and contradictory meanings than any other colour.
• Dark blue has connotations of trust, dignity, intelligence and authority.
• Bright blue signifies cleanliness, strength, dependability, coolness.
• Light blue means peace, serenity, ethereal, spiritual and infinity.
• Blue also has connotations with sadness.
• 53% of world flags contain the colour blue.
• In Europe, aristocracy are said to be Blue-blooded.
• In Greek, blue is said to ward off evil.
• In English, “To feel blue” has no equivalent translation in any language.
• The God Krishna, from Hinduism has blue skin.
• The eye sharply refracts shades of blue causing the lens to flatten, pushing blue images back creating the illusion of blue areas receding or being smaller. The same refraction also causes visual fog within interior spaces with too much blue.

Purple:

• Purple is rarely seen in nature and has a high expense rate for creating it so over the centuries it has earned its association with the supernatural.
• Purple has the most powerful wavelength of the rainbow.
• Of all the colours it has the richest history.
• In 1900BC it took 12,000 shellfish to extract 1.5grams of pure dye, so this colour was often associated with the rich and powerful. With modern technology it is now much cheaper to reproduce but it still has associations with nobility and luxury.
• Purple is the most powerful visible wavelength of electromagnetic energy. This could explain why purple has associations with the supernatural, energy and the cosmos, rather than the physical world.
• Colourmatters.com describes purple as symbolising magic, mystery, spirituality, the sub-conscious, creativity, dignity and royalty.
• Different shades of purple have different meanings- light purples are light hearted, floral and romantic. Darker shades are more intellectual and dignified.
• Negative meanings of purple are decadence, conceit, mourning and pomposity.
• Only 2 flags in the world contain the colour purple.
• Purple is the hardest colour for the eye to discriminate. The Lilac Chaser demonstrates how this works http://www.michaelbach.de/ot/col_lilacChaser/index.html

  

In conclusion, colour is clearly significant and holds lots of different meanings to different cultures and for different situations. It can evoke emotions, tastes, smells, caution, fear, calm, passion, sadness, joy and many other things. Colour can be individual to a person- I personally love the colour Orange but others hate it.

When I design for The Magicians Nephew I will try and take into consideration what the different colours mean and represent, allowing it to be connected with on a subconscious level e.g. If I design Charn to be all green and yellow it will come across as a happy place full of nature and joy, where as a more appropriate colour scheme would be to use Red, black and possibly hints of blue, this creating a more dangerous atmosphere, instantly causing the viewer to feel that this place is evil or unsafe.

The next step...

The final MA stage begins...

Theory: Urban Fantasy

Urban fantasy is a sub-genre of fantasy. One of its main characteristics, as the name suggests, is that it is set in an urban environment, typically a city. Unlike some fantasy storylines set in the wilderness or on alien planets, Urban fantasy comes the added storylines of social etiquette, political complications and all the social implications that come with Urban living.

An example:

“If Jon slays a witch in the middle of the wilderness, and no one hears her fall, there aren't any consequences for Jon. On the other hand, if Jon slays Morgawse, who happens to be the mother of King Arthur and of his son Mordred, not to mention a political force in her own right as ruler of Orkney, Jon must deal with political and emotional fallout. If he hides his deed, he must worry about discovery; if he flees to France and from there across Europe to the Holy Land, he'll have adventures along the way; if he sticks around and boasts of his prowess, he earns Mordred's wrath and puts Arthur in a difficult spot.” 
(http://www.writing-world.com/sf/contemporary.shtml)

Urban fantasy can come in many different styles; aliens invading modern cities, mythological creatures invading settlements, alternate universes where magic and civilisation live in harmony, modern times where the magic community live in hiding unknown to most people. A popular example of the latter is Harry Potter where wizards, witches and monsters live unnoticed by ordinary humans but dwell among us in hiding.

Urban fantasy does not have to be confined to modern cities and times however. Authors Marie Brennan and Cassandra Clare have been known to use urban fantasy in Elizabethan and Victorian settings. It is still Urban Fantasy because of the location it is set and the social implications that come with it.

I have looked at Urban Fantasy as a possible setting for Charn where the white witch used to live. The back story of Charn could be that magic, monsters and witches lived in plain sight of ordinary life. So when I design the sets for Charn I could have dead people, monsters and wizards all in the same place within the city, as if magic and monsters was the norm.