Work: Narnia- Floating Cogs/Creation scene

New visual for Narnia- I realised I'd done lots of concepts for plants but hadn’t done any of rock formations or natural landscape designs, so I created this image. It shows Aslan in the bottom right hand corner singing (as described in the book), but I have added cogs to the scene as if they are forming from his words, and the floating away to their destination.

I printed this image on the Uni printers and it came out really well, almost perfectly matching the on screen colours so I'm quite pleased. We have started laying out the book this week and this image will be in as a large fold out page for maximum impact.

Work: Narnia- Gate into the Garden

One of the scenes I am designing for is The Garden. This is where the tree from my previous blog post is situated and where Digory plucks a magic apple for Aslan. The Gate has a fairly basic description in the book, just as being Gold, with silver writing on it and surrounded by a wall made of turf. This Concept visual is to represent that gate.

Work: Narnia- Tree in the Garden

This is a rendering of the Tree in the Garden where Polly and Digory have to go and collect a magic apple for Aslan. In the book the description of this tree is quite basic so it left me quite a lot design space to play with. The book does describe the other trees in the garden as being “not only green but also blue and silver”, so I adapted this for the central tree and made it purple, green and silver- this makes it stand out a bit more showing it to be more important.

Work: Wood between the Worlds SECOND render

Render number two, this is slightly more what I envisioned in my head but I still don’t think its right- yes it shows the look but it doesn’t quite feel like it’s giving enough information. I might do some tree concepts to try and explain the Idea a bit more; this would help give a wider picture of the whole design...I’m conscious that I'm running out of time though so it may have to do.

Work: Wood between the Worlds render

I’ve finally started designing the Wood between the Worlds... only slightly behind schedule. I started by sketching the design out then running it through Photoshop. It proved very difficult to render and I got quite frustrated with it, and almost gave in to despair! But then I tried a different rendering style using a little bit of photo collage to create a different look, resulting in this...

It’s not really what I want but as an image I think it looks quite nice and dynamic so I’ve kept it as some development work. Now I have to try and render it how I want it to look...however that may be.

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.

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.

Research: Charn

I just put some images together into a mood board to show some possible looks and characteristics I could use for Charn. The images were all created by a Concept Artist called Daniel Dociu (tinfoilgames.com)

Work: Plant Adaptation- Clockwork Tree

I’ve been designing some fantasy plants again but this time I’ve been trying to stick with the Style Guide that we produced for the Magicians Nephew. I decided to design a Clockwork tree combining a Willow-style tree and some clockwork mechanisms.

Clockwork Tree sketch

I sketched out some Ideas and decided on the following design. I Scanned in my sketch and put it through Illustrator (which I’m still getting to grips with). I tried rendering it in Illustrator but I still can’t quite get the look I want using Illustrator so I put the illustrator outline into Photoshop to Digitally Paint.

Illustrator render

In the style guide we said we wanted the look to be quite dark and a little bit sinister so I rendered the tree using dark colours making it look creepier. I also decided to add a eerie glow as if a light source was hidden within the Willows branches- this added a bit of mystery to the design. My colour pallet comprised of mainly dark greys and cool blues.

Original Painting which printed too dark

Photoshop Render

On my screen the final image looked fine but when I printed it, it was very dark and hard to define so I had to go back and play with the levels. The dark nature of this tree would fit well in my project as part of Charn’s environment or even the outskirts of the Wood between the Worlds.

Second Render

I did a rendering variation of the tree but this time increasing the lightness and adding some blue glowing fireflies around the trees. This makes the tree look less sinister and more magical...I’m not sure this is quite suitable for Charn but maybe appropriate for Narnia.

Work: Magicians Nephew logo

For my final MA project I am going to produce some concept visuals and set designs for the first Narnia story The Magicians Nephew.

I will be collaborating with Hannah Purdy on this project using Professional Practise techniques so that we both get used to the way the film industry work in the Art department.

We created this logo to use on our work and images to bring all our work together into a coherent working project; providing it with a visual identity as they would do in industry.

 

Technique: Digital Speed Painting

The way I render images I produce is a collage based technique similar to what’s known in the film industry as Matte Painting. I layer up photographs, textures and colours to produce a rendered image. I want to experiment with some other forms of rendering particularly for producing concept images. I purchased an ImagineFX: Fantasy & Sci-fi Digital Art magazine and noticed that the majority of the concept art pieces were produced by painting with Photoshop. Digital painting uses similar painting techniques to normal painting but with the added convenience of full digital editing capabilities.

The following video is one of the videos I found that shows you how to digitally paint in Photoshop. The notes from the video are listed bellow.

Drawing from your mind concept art tutorial environment magma river

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UiSsxumLFjs&feature=relmfu

• Landscape orientated images look more cinematic
• Have an idea of the look before you start but don’t rigidly stick to it
• Don't need to focus to heavily on perspective when drawing organic shapes
• Simple layouts are best when incorporating a Foreground, Midground and Background
• Determine the chromatic value range before you start
• Keep colour values simple- 3-5max with a dominant colour- using an overlay layer filter
• Use contrasting colours to create atmosphere and more striking form
• Values become more washed out as the move towards the background

Here are some more digital painting videos that use nature as their main theme. The second video creates a particularly stunning image of a forest. When I return to university next week I want to try reproducing some digitally painted concept drawings using a graphics tablet in photoshop.

Speed painting - Soul of the forest.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJhcbfZv-6M&feature=related

  Green forest speed painting

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdcXVcCDrTQ&feature=related

Work: Kami

"Out of the trees wild people stepped forth, gods and goddesses of the wood; with them came Fauns and Satyrs and Dwarfs. Out of the river rose the river god with his

Naiad daughters."

(Lewis, C.S, 1990, pg171)

I decided to produce some of my own work based on the information I had gathered about the idea of Kami and spiritual beings in nature. Using my text, which is The Magicians Nephew by C.S.Lewis, I found a passage which described beings emerging from the forest linked with elements of the natural world (see above quote)

This first Kami is based on the Silver Birch tree. I decided that if there was to be a Kami who personified the beauty of this type of tree she should be an elegant female form to reflect the gracefulness of the Silver Birch.

This Kami was designed to hold control over Autumn. Her hair therefore is a tangle of beautiful golden leaves.

Both characters link with Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s development of the theory of Suspension of Disbelief, as both characters still take part of their form from the familiarity of everyday life- the female figure is clearly present in both characters.

The female figure I used for both images was drawn by myself as part of the life drawing classes I attend (which are turning out to be more and more useful).

Lewis, C.S (1990) The Magicians Nephew, Collins, UK

Initial Research: Finding a Story

As part of my project I need to find a text to design for. I’ve known the story to The Magicians Nephew by C. S. Lewis   since I was a young child so I am very familiar with the story, characters and locations. This therefore gives me an advantage If I use this particular story to design for.

This story is the first of the Chronicles of Narnia books, some of which have been made into very successful films. This is a good example therefore of a novel that when adapted for the screen is very popular.

This is my favourite choice of story so far but I will conduct further research into the others.

My Inspiration

"A good design can feel like something you have always been waiting for without knowing."

Paul Huizinga

Here is a collection of images from various films which I really like the designs for, and when I watch them they spark my interest and imagination.

For me A Bugs Life is one long comical play on nature. I love the way they use natural objects as bits of furniture; whether its leaves as walls to mushrooms as lamps. It shows true creativity and imagination in environmental design.
http://90.146.8.18/bilderclient/PR_1999_bugslife_001_p.jpg
A bugs life accessed 11-10-2011 12-41pm

The 1951 version of Alice in Wonderland is by far my favourite adaptation of the classic novel. This image shows a scene in Tulgey wood. The trees join together creating pathways and walls throughout the forest and with their unusual colour variations they create a very interesting environment for the character to walk through. The idea of an enchanted forest is very interesting to me.
http://cf1.imgobject.com/backdrops/584/4d5fec6b5e73d60c5a002584/alice-in-wonderland-original.jpg
Alice in wonderland cartoon tolgy wood accessed 11-10-2011 12-42pm

The 2010 version of Alice in Wonderland by Tim Burton takes the idea of enchanted woodland to a whole new level. This scene where the characters walk through a forest of gigantic mushrooms and twisted branches is truly magical.
http://movienews.ro/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/alice8.jpg
Alice in wonderland giant mushrooms accessed 11-10-2011 12-43pm

Another image from the 2010 version of Alice in Wonderland. This time it shows the character interacting with some giant flowers. The concept of giant talking flowers looking down on humans is interesting because of the role reversal. Alice in wonderland is a great film for weird and wonderful which gets my imagination going.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiedfnR5ikeN7M7NfEuk1N_FbEZeS9ZcF1bHpIrVdvTVGX94i_5Td3znhRmNkRET41sjp3umatoyLhnfA2orR8fZyIq1ZIuhMnyY_xE4HLzJ0pOnqlRiPvJuvY2MBFVIC24scx-BZE3TU/s1600/alice_in_wonderland03.jpg
Alice in wonderland giant flowers accessed 11-10-2011 12-43pm

Again with the weird and wonderful is Coraline. Taking place in two worlds; the dull normal world and an alternate world, the alternate world is by far the more exciting with vivid colours, distorted perspectives and strange creatures. I love the weirdness of this films environments.
http://www.fondosparapantalla.com/albums/fondos-cine/Coraline-007.jpg
Coraline accessed 11-10-2011 12-46pm

I love the character that James and the Giant Peach has. Its similar in style to Coraline in that it uses Stop Animation but advances in the industry have allowed Coraline to come out with a much crisper finish and higher quality of animation. Having said that however, James and the Giant Peach I feel comes alive because of its quirky roughness.
http://images.alphacoders.com/107/107143.jpg
James and the Giant Peach accessed 11-10-2011 12-44pm

Narnia: The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe has some of the most magical environments and set designs I have seen. From mysterious English manors to frozen Ice palaces. Even I would love to run around the sets for this film!
http://jollyblogger.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/narnia.jpg
Narnia: The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe lampost accessed 11-10-2011 12-38pm

Nausicaa of the Vally of the Wind is an Anime with art direction Mitsuyoshi Nakamura. This animation has some beautiful visuals so that each scene almost becomes an epic painting.
http://download.minitokyo.net/Nausicaa.of.the.Valley.of.the.Wind.516772.jpg
Nausicca of the Velley of the Wind accessed 11-10-2011 12-45pm

In my opinion Nightmare Before Christmas is Tim Burton's greatest film. The sets have so much character in their 'illustrated' style, the characters are so varied, the songs are amazing and overall it comes across as an excellent film.
http://images.fanpop.com/images/image_uploads/Halloween-Town-nightmare-before-christmas-226842_717_438.jpg
Nightmare Before Christmas Town Square accessed 11-10-2011 12-39pm

The iconic hill set from Nightmare Before Christmas sums up the entire styling concept for this film.
http://images2.fanpop.com/images/photos/3000000/The-Nightmare-Before-Christmas-nightmare-before-christmas-3012404-1280-960.jpg
Nightmare Before Christmas hill accessed 11-10-2011 12-39pm

This heavily stylised adaptation of Peter Pan would not look out of place in the animation section of a Blockbuster. Its strong colours, stylized environments and magical creatures make this film stand out for me above any other peter pan film.
http://www.artwallpapers.com/movie/data/peter_pan_movie/03/peter_pan_movie03.jpg
Peter Pan accessed 11-10-2011 12-40pm

Interview with a Production Designer: Roger Ford

“...One of the characters is the building...”

“So, in a sense, when we tried to develop the exterior of the castle, I'm trying to put a character into the movie and make it reflect the Telmarine culture. It's imposing in

its own right.”
George Miller and Roger Ford

Here are some examples of work by the Production Designer Roger Ford. I am particularly interested in his work he did on Narnia: The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, Narnia: Prince Caspian and Peter Pan.

Roger Ford- Production designer for Narnia:Prince Caspian
http://www.narniaweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/4635-400x226.jpg
accessed 07/10/2011 2:11pm

Written interview: Roger Ford, production designer for "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian"

http://www.comingsoon.net/films.php?id=36746&offset=10

Accessed 07/10/2011 12:03pm

I find his set designs for the Narnia films very creative and just seeing images of them gets my imagination excited. He mixes the ethereal snow covered forests with the ice laden palace of the white witch to produce an incredibly diverse setting for a classic children’s story. He was nominated for the Excellence in Filmmaking award by the 2006 Australian Film Institute and the film The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe won Best Family Film in 2006 at the Broadcast film Critics Association Awards.

Narnia: The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe
Magical Narnian Forest
http://www.dan-dare.org/FreeFun/Images/CartoonsMoviesTV/LionWitchWardrobeWallpaper1024.jpg
Accessed 7/10/2011 1:24pm

Narnia: The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe
http://uk.movies.ign.com
Accessed 7/10/2011 1:30pm

Narnia: The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe
Cair Paravel Concept art
http://s3.amazonaws.com/data.tumblr.com/tumblr_l5rva3IJFB1qc1m43o1_1280.jpg?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIAJ6IHWSU3BX3X7X3Q&Expires=1318075748&Signature=
TgFfOuodLt4ceCryeZfxtJoQwRg%3D
Accessed 7/10/2011 1:32pm

Narnia: The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe
Witch's Castle
http://www.stardusttrailers.com/scheda_wallpaper_read.php?id=876&titolo=The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe&id_wallpaper=6675
Accessed 7/10/2011 1:29pm

Narnia: The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe
Aslans How
http://uk.movies.ign.com
Accessed 7/10/2011 1:38pm

Narnia: Prince Caspian
Concept Art
http://www.comingsoon.net/films.php?id=36746&offset=10
Accessed 7/10/2011 11:17am

Narnia: Prince Caspian
Dancing Lawn: Concept Art
http://www.comingsoon.net/films.php?id=36746&offset=10
Accessed 7/10/2011 11:15am

Narnia: Prince Caspian
Cair Paravel Ruins
http://narnia.wikia.com/wiki/Cair_Paravel
Accessed 7/10/2011 1:31pm

Peter Pan
Reacuring two-tone colour scheme
http://www.scenicreflections.com/files/Peter_Pan:2003_Wallpaper_JxHy.jpg
Accessed 7/10/2011 1:34pm

Peter Pan
Stylizing: almost paint like designs
http://imageshack.us/f/220/2kd6sgxs1nsu4iawudgk003.jpg/
Accessed 7/10/2011 1:36pm

Peter Pan
Two-tone design
http://outnow.ch/Media/Movies/Bilder/2003/PeterPan/movie.xl/02.jpg
Accessed 7/10/2011 1:34pm

Peter Pan
Colourful environments heavily stylized and colour enhanced
http://twilightswarden.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/peter_pan_12.jpg
Accessed 7/10/2011 1:37pm