Research: Clockpunk

Another Cyberpunk genre we looked at for the project is Clockpunk. Clockpunk is based on the idea that technological advancements developed through clockwork, cogs and springs. There are two types of clock punk- historical and non-historical. Historical clockpunk looks at how the world may have looked if technology had developed based on clockwork or similar devices. Non-historical clockpunk is based on parallel world theory where clockwork technology is the main source of technology. 

This is a nice simple style that I think would work really well for MN. I like the idea of nature being fused with clockwork creating a mechanical-organic hybrid.

Research: Steam/Dieselpunk

Me and Hannah started looking at some visual styles we could use for our telling of The Magicians Nephew. We didn’t want to just produce another Narnia film with a different story; we wanted to produce a film with its own take on the story. So we started researching some different styles we could incorporate into the story.

Two styles we came across were commonly used in the Science Fiction world but we could easily incorporate them into a fantasy setting.

Steampunk

Steampunk is a style of Sci-fi that is based on the period 1837-1910, focusing on the Victorian era. It uses Victorian technology and styles and places them in a sci-fi setting (also known as Neo-Victorianism). A fashion culture also branched out of this genre merging gothic, punk and rivet styles together to produce Victorian style fashion. Typical characteristics of Steampunk are gothic and punk styles mixed with materials such as polished brass, iron and wood commonly used during the Victorian era. This style could be incorporated into our design incorporating the Neo-Victorianism way of thinking into the designs e.g. characters with Victorian style futuristic clothing or mechanically driven plants and trees.

Dieselpunk

Dieselpunk is a subgenre of Cyberpunk and is based on the period around World War II (1920-1945). It is typically identified by its Pulp magazines, Serial films, Film Noir, Art Deco and Wartime Pun-ups. Films based on Dieselpunk often contain large metallic modes of transport in a wartime style. This style could also be quite easily applied to the design of the MN by incorporating large machinery and metalwork.

Another Punk style we looked at was Biopunk but we decided it was probably not suitable for our interpretation:

Collaboration

It is now official that myself and Hannah Purdy (puppetryandhanimation.blogspot.com) will be collaborating to produce our final MA projects. We will be both be producing various elements for the design of The Magicians Nephew by C.S. Lewis.

My role will as Set Designer will involve producing:

Concept visuals/art
Set details
Technical Drawings (if required)
Models
In depth location research
Specific research into how the natural world can be used effectively to produce fantasy landscapes.
   

Hannah’s Role as Character Designer will involve producing:
Character Profiles
Character Line up
In depth character research
A selection of detailed character packages
   

We will also be sharing the responsibilities of:
Acting Production Designers
Having meetings
Production Organisation
Story Specific Research
Storyboarding
Logo Design
Visual Design/Style of the piece
Final Pitch/Presentation


We hope to submit a full Visual Treatment at the end of the year for the film.


.

Work: Rendering Techniques

I’ve been experiment some more with Illustrator by attending some Illustrator workshops organised for Fashion and Textile students. They have been very useful and by doing some of my own experimenting I think I have now got to grips with some basic Illustrator techniques.

I started doing some sketches of some fantasy plants as a response to the research I did earlier on “Weird looking plants”. I will talk about this in more detail later on. I experimented with rendering techniques using some newly gained Illustrator skills and some recently developed Digital painting techniques in Photoshop. I like both results but for the purposes of showing a concept and texture I think the Photoshop one work better.

Life Drawing: Male 25/01/2012

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.

 

Research: Weird looking Plants

To help me answer my research question; “How can the natural world be adapted to create magical landscapes and imaginative worlds in film sets”, I decided to gather some image references of weird and unusual plants...it brought up some unusual things.


This primordial ooze is the Bleeding Tooth Fungus. It grows in North America in coniferous forests. It is definitely an unusual looking thing- like a blog of cream saturated in blood- it’s quite sinister. If I saw one in a forest I would really have to fight the urge to poke it with a stick!

Bleeding tooth 1 accessed 18-01-12

http://www.cracked.com/article_18979_10-creepy-plants-that-shouldnt-exist.html

Bleeding tooth 2 accessed 18-01-12

http://www.cracked.com/article_18979_10-creepy-plants-that-shouldnt-exist.html

This alien-like creature mass is the Chinese Black Bat flower. The black beauty can be kept as an ornamental house plant and gets its name from its dangling fruit that looks like hanging bats. Its mass of tentacles makes it look like an alien-spider hybrid waiting to pounce. To find one of these plants in the wild you would need to travel into the deep dark depths of the tropical forest in Yunnan Province, China. Its strangely beautiful but I wouldn't want to get too close!

  Chinese Black Batflowers 1 accessed 18-01-12
http://www.cracked.com/article_18979_10-creepy-plants-that-shouldnt-exist.html

  Chinese Black Batflowers 2 accessed 18-01-12

http://www.cracked.com/article_18979_10-creepy-plants-that-shouldnt-exist.html

  

 These next two “things”are mushrooms; the Sea Anemone Mushroom and the Octopus Stinkhorn. Both of Australian origin and both look like something from an Alien film. They start of as normal looking mushrooms until their tentacles erupt out forming these alien style offspring. 

  Sea anemone mushroom accessed 18-01-12

http://www.cracked.com/article_18979_10-creepy-plants-that-shouldnt-exist.html

 

  Octopus stinkhorn 1 accessed 18-01-12

http://www.cracked.com/article_18979_10-creepy-plants-that-shouldnt-exist.html

  Octopus stinkhorn 2 accessed 18-01-12

http://www.cracked.com/article_18979_10-creepy-plants-that-shouldnt-exist.html

  

This prickly fellow is the Porcupine tomato plant. Originating from Madagascar, this spiky fiend is covered in vivid orange razor spikes and is highly poisonous. I liked the unusual Orange spikes of this plant which makes it look quite attractive against the dark green leaves.

  Porcupine Tomato accessed 18-01-12

http://www.cracked.com/article_18979_10-creepy-plants-that-shouldnt-exist_p2.html

  

This tentacle-tastic fungal infection affects cedar and apple trees. Cedar-apple Rust Fungus slowly grows on the host tree until it eventually kills it.

  Cedar-apple rusk fungus accessed 18-01-12

http://www.cracked.com/article_18979_10-creepy-plants-that-shouldnt-exist_p2.html

Traditionally used in Chinese medicine this bizarre plant has become somewhat of a spectacle. It is unclear as to how much human interference has been involved to create this unique root structure but there certainly are many examples available claiming to be completely Mother Nature’s doing. Whatever the case, these little “fellows” are in great abundance around china and come in all forms and “sexes”.

  Chinese Fleeceflower1 accessed 18-01-12

http://www.cracked.com/article_18979_10-creepy-plants-that-shouldnt-exist_p2.html

 

  Chinese Fleeceflower2 accessed 18-01-12

http://www.cracked.com/article_18979_10-creepy-plants-that-shouldnt-exist_p2.html

  Chinese Fleeceflower3 accessed 18-01-12

http://www.cracked.com/article_18979_10-creepy-plants-that-shouldnt-exist_p2.html

This final wacky plant is called Hydnora Africana. This little pest is a parasitic plant found in dry desert areas of South Africa. It attacks nearby roots and shrubs using them as a host and feeds off their nutrients and water supply. It looks like a vicious creature and apparently smells putrid. I wouldn’t want to put my hand in those jaw-like buds.

Hydnora Africana 1 accessed 18-01-12

http://www.botany.org/Parasitic_Plants/images/Hydnora_africana-SC-6.jpg

Hydnora Africana 2 accessed 18-01-12

http://www.divinecaroline.com/22167/37205-eight-world-s-most-unusual-plants

Hydnora Africana 3 accessed 18-01-12

http://www.plantzafrica.com/planthij/plimageshij/hydnorafric.jpg

Nature is...weird!!!

I think this is a clear example of how warped nature can be and how as designers we can take natures design reasonably far and still manage to make it believable. I think I need to have a go at creating some plants and adaptations of real life flora and see how I could bend it to my purposes for fantasy films.