Inspiration From The Dream World

Check this out! http://dreamcatcher.net/

This is an amazing site I found where people share their dream experiences through a journal. I think dreams are so inspiring. I'm trying to get into a habit of keeping my own dream journal because my so many ideas, concepts and strange experiences come to me when I drift off at night. When you begin to dream it's like a whole new world has invited you to come and explore. There's just so many possibilities all the way from the people you encounter to the places you discover. I think it's very fascinating~ And what I love about this site, is that you can collect inspiration from other people's experiences as well as you own and you also have the opportunity to give that back by posting yourself.

Video Game Characters

So, we got introduced to archetypes today. I understand what archetypes are but I didn't know much about the general context for specific ones. I found it quite confusing at first because within the film, game and animation industry, and even in literature, these archetypes are sometimes crossed over, so I found it hard to pin point their origins.

The list of character's below were taken from the Guinness World Records Book for 'Top 50 Video Game Characters of All Time'. Now, I know that there will be people who do not agree with this list, and I'm not saying I agree either but, the selected characters have been picked for a reason and, I think that looking through this list is a good way of developing your own character's. When creating your own character, I think looking at existing characters and finding out exactly what it is that makes them so successful is a great place to start.

1. Mario (Donkey Kong, Nintendo, 1981)
2. Link (The Legend of Zelda, Nintendo, 1986)
3. Master Chief (Halo: Combat Evolved, Microsoft, 2001)
4. Solid Snake (Metal Gear, Konami, 1987)
5. Cloud Strife (Final Fantasy VII, Square, 1997)
6. PAC-Man (PAC-Man, Namco, 1980)
7. Lara Croft (Tomb Raider, Eidos 1996)
8. Gordon Freeman (Half-Life, Valve, 1998)
9. Kratos (God of War, Sony, 2005)
10. Sonic (Sonic the Hedgehog, Sega, 1990)
11. Crash (Crash Bandicoot, Sony, 1996)
12. “Soap” MacTavish (Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Activision, 2007)
13. Nico Bellic (Grand Theft Auto IV, Rockstar, 2008)
14. Samus Aran (Metroid, Nintendo 1986)
15. Ratchet (Ratchet & Clank, Sony, 2002)
16. Nathan Drake (Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, Sony, 2007)
17. Captain Price (Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Activision, 2007)
18. Kirby (Kirby’s Dream Land, Nintendo, 1992)
19. Marcus Fenix (Gears of War, Microsoft, 2006)
20. Pikachu (Pokemon Red/Green, Nintendo 1996)
21. Yoshi (Super Mario World, Nintendo, 1990)
22. “CJ” Johnson (Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Rockstar, 2004)
23. Mega Man (Mega Man, Capcom, 1987)
24. Sam Fisher (Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell, Ubisoft, 2002)
25. Shadow (Sonic Adventure 2, Sega, 2001)
26. Jak (Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy, Sony, 2001)
27. Duke Nukem (Duke Nukem, Apogee, 1991)
28. Dante (Devil May Cry, Bandai, 2003)
29. Naruto (Naruto: Konoha Ninpoch, Bandai, 2003)
30. Altair (Assassin’s Creed, Ubisoft, 2007)
31. Zelda (The Legend of Zelda, Nintendo, 1986)
32. Sephiroth (Final Fantasy VII, Square, 1997)
33. Donkey Kong (Donkey Kong, Nintendo, 1981)
34. The Prince (Prince of Persia, Broderbund, 1989)
35. Ezio (Assassin’s Creed II, Ubisoft, 2009)
36. Leon S (Biohazard/ Resident Evil, Capcom, 1996)
37. Ash Ketchum (Pokemon Red/Green, Nintendo, 1996)
38. Guybrush Threepwood (The Secret of Monkey Island, LucasArts, 1990)
39. Spyro (Spyro the Dragon, Universal, 1998)
40. “Ghost” Riley (Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II, Activision, 2009)
41. Goku (Dragon Daihikyoe, Epoch, 1987)
42. Max Payne (Max Payne, Rockstar, 2001)
43. Jill Valentine (Biohazard/ Resident Evil, Capcom, 1996)
44. Princess Peach (Super Mario Bros., Nintendo, 1985)
45. Larry Laffer (Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards, Sierra, 1987)
46. Augustus Cole (Gears of War, Microsoft, 2006)
47. Bowser (Super Mario Bros., Nintendo, 1985)
48. Eddie Riggs (Brutal Legend, EA, 2009)
49. Ryu (Street Fighter, Capcom, 1987)
50. Sackboy (LIttleBigPlanet, Sony, 2008)

Sophia Kolokouri

This is yet another artist I found through an IFX magazine. I find her work very aesthetically appealing as she uses a very photo-realistic style and she's got a really good eye for colour. Like the last artist I looked at, she also enjoys drawing animals and the female form. Her work is very fantasy themed as well.

'The Lady Bird' by Sophia Kolokouri

I was particularly drawn to her work by because of this piece called 'The Lady Bird'.  I'm just so compelled by this image; the proportions are just so well balanced and I especially love the dashes of red in the feathers. It's beautiful executed and it's also a great example of crossing the animal form with the human. I was thinking of possibly looking to create more of a inhuman being after looking into the Egyptian Gods/Goddesses.

As well as being an illustrator she's also an animator so it was nice to look at some of her character concept work for the cartoons she's created in the past. All of which you can find at this website: http://mysideworld.com/

Shaolin (2011)

Every Sunday I rent films from Blockbuster and yesterday I took out a martial arts movie called Shaolin. it's quite obviously a periodic film set in China during the warlord era. The film is very character/story driven and displays the transformation within man from learning to let go of hatred and receive peace through the monks teachings. There's a great show of karma in the plot and it really works well with the initial story line. It's quite a fast paced story but I do like the way it unfolds at the end.

These are the two main character's whose stories keep the plot flowing. Big credit to both of actors, Andy Lau and Nicholas Tse. I think they played their roles extremely well and their chemistry throughout is spot on. I really love character driven stories because you can really see how each of them grow and bloom as the movie comes to an end. Their last scene together is so emotional and moving. There's also a really symbolic sequence towards the end of their battle.

On top of all the moving story telling, it's also quite an action packed film all the way from explosions to dynamic fight sequences. There also elements of comedy in there delivered by the one and only Jackie Chan himself as he makes a special appearance.

Overall, I found this motion picture utterly breath taking and I highly recommend it to all. Here's the trailer for the film if anyone is interested. The soundtrack for the film is also really awe-inspiring and lyrical, so that's worth a look at.

Dancer: Initial design

This is an expansion on the first sketches I drew of her. On these sketches I've started to pick out parts of the design and elaborate on them more. The main change as you can probably spot out is that I've changed the hip scarf because it came across as a little stiff on my first sketch and I need to be aware of mobility. The study I did on the clothing folds has also helped me improve on my outfit designs to help me make them look more realistic.

I'm going to try out different patterns on both the drape and the straps going across her chest and also have a mess around with the different colour combinations. The design for the drape and straps were actually inspired by the wings of the Goddess Isis.

You can also see that I've highlighted the coins and the beaded areas. This is because as part of future development, I want to look at different patterns, beading and materials.

This is just a quick sketch showing how the fabrics are attached to the arm and how it would look with the arm extended. I decided to draw this up because it's hard to get the gist of how it works from my first sketches due to her arms being at her sides. Another reason for drawing from this particular view was to test what I had learned from my previous clothing study. But anyway, back to my design. I like this particular feature because I think the material would glide through the air beautifully when she starts to dance and twirl. It also resembles a cape or maybe even wings. 

Study of Modern Egyptian Fashion

I thought that as well as looking at Ancient Egypt, it would be nice to look at more modern and contemporary fashion designs. As mentioned in a previous post, I'd like to overlap the old with the new to help propel my idea into a whole new direction rather than focus on one area. As well as looking at modern fashion, my initial sketches for my character (with the exception to the dangling fabrics from her arms) the clothes look quite stiff. Because I'm doing a dancer, her clothing needs to allow mobility and also enhance her movement so I decided that it'd be worth studying clothing folds.

Here's a few rough sketches I did of some items of modern Egyptian clothing.

After doing these sketches, I noticed that every fold has a point of origin from which it extends from. This will prove very useful for my future drawings. I also find that the designs are very flowing and figure hugging. This is something that I might show in my own outfit designs because I'd like to show off her physique and really empower that feminine form.

These are some of the sites and images I used to draw from. Some of the other dresses are really beautiful too and they might influence some of my future designs.

http://fashionstuffz.blogspot.com/2010/10/egyptian-fashion.html

http://4girls-en.blogspot.com/2011/07/egyptian-fashion-2012-evening-dresses.html

Inspiration Comes In Strange Ways

On Friday, I went to the World Curry festival at the Leeds Victoria Gardens. Because of people still being at work and college it wasn't too crowded but it was still quite lively. It was nice to see and experience such a gathering of different cultures, foods and spices.

This gave me the idea of perhaps making a market environment for my character. At first I was thinking that maybe my character could be a slave within palace walls as a form of entertainment for royalty but now, I think I like the simplicity of her being a street performer. She could even be a bit of both? Maybe she's quite an established dancer and performs at venues whenever she gets the chance. Who knows? The possibilities are endless!

On a serious note though, I'm really warming to this idea so I'm going to have a play around with it. I think I might head towards a more gypsy-like concept though. I like the idea of her being a travelling performer because it'll give me the opportunity to mix western and eastern culture but, we'll see~

Android Jones

This artists' work blows me away without question. I actually found this artist through the IFX magazine I've been reading. There's a couple of other artists in the magazine that have really caught my attention which I will post later on but for now, back to Android Jones. 

I love how his work is very abstract yet there are elements of symmetry thrown in there, especially in the faces. I'm very fond of symmetrical works, you'll probably be able to tell because I tend to draw people's faces forward facing. I am going to try experiment with different poses and angles as the course progresses though so my work isn't so one dimensional. 

I've noticed from looking through his gallery and his portfolio pieces that he enjoys drawing the female form. I adore how he's drawn the lips and eyes~ They look so soft yet fierce. The winged shapes and abstract forms coming out from the eyelids are really intriguing. It really highlights the eyes and makes them the focal point of of his images despite the noisy abstract backgrounds. Even without these peculiar features the faces in general are very simplistic and pure. I think his style might influence my work enormously when I come to looking at make-up. The Egyptians wore quite heavy make-up to protect their eyes from the sun as well as for beauty. Egyptian Gods also have animal features so I think that my concept would nicely marry influence from his work.  

All of the images above can be found at http://www.androidjones.com/ 

Dancer Concept

I've decided that I want to develop on the idea of a dancer so I've been busy drawing more detailed sketches.

The reason why I've decided to develop this idea is mainly because I feel that the 'Dancing in the Streets' festival was by the far the place that inspired me the most. And as mentioned in previous posts, I think it gives me a good opportunity to look more in depth at a vibrant colour palette.

As you'll be able to see from my drawings, I've also incorporated the Egyptian theme into this idea. I've done this so I have a theme to work from plus, I'm really into Egyptian stuff myself but, I've never had the chance to embed that into my work so I won't let this opportunity pass me by!

As you can see, I like to associate flowing fabrics with dancing because, as well as it looking very beautiful and graceful, it also emphasises the dancer's movement. This is also a good foundation for me to experiment with different character poses.

The default hairstyle I'm giving her for the moment is your typical Egyptian bob cut. According Egyptian history, hair was quite prone to developing diseases and infections in those days so as a result, they shaved their heads and wore wigs. This was good for keeping your youth as well because your hair would never turn white through age.

As for her figure, because she's a dancer, it's kind of a natural thing to associate her having an extremely fine and curvaceous body, so that's what I've given her. I'm not very good at drawing the female form so the Posemaniac's website and the anatomy magazine helped a lot.

The coin detail around her hips are common features within Belly Dancing which has some origins in Egypt so there may be a few bits and bobs that cross old with new. The coins also add a nice ring when the person is moving about. I think that jingling sounds help assist the lively yet calming nature I want to put across in my character. To further this, I'll have to look at coins, beads and maybe even instruments in more detail.

The necklace she's wearing was actually inspired by a dream catcher. I thought that the suspended rings would work well with the coins attached to the skirt around her hips. I think I might scrap the necklace dependant on what's going on around the chest area because I don't want to take the attention away from particular details. It could also end up looking very overcrowded and messy.

Ideas

These are two very quick doodles I did based on what I had seen during the trip to the Leeds City Museum. I was just collecting my thoughts and trying to come up with some ideas. The things that have influenced these two sketches were the dance festival stuff and a bit of clockwork that had been embedded into a costume.

Dancer

Clockwork Mannequin

Warrior Concept

After being inspired by the shells I photographed at the museum, I decided to take some more pictures when I got home because I have some shell ornaments dotted around the house. These are a few of the photos I took.

And from these pictures I came up with this...

At first, I started out trying to make armour using the shell's harsh ridges because of the many interesting shapes going on. It would also be a good base to build up quite a unique and quirky concept, which swiftly leads me onto the other idea. Here I started to experiment with combining the shell structure to that of the spine. I got this idea after studying the shell in more detail. The spines and blunt edges look very similar to that of the human spine. I used this http://mississaugachiro.com/interactive_flash_spinal_nerve_chart.php as reference and to help me examine it in more depth.

As for the story, the spinal feature could be part of a tribal species or even some kind of infection because there's a scaly surface resembling the spread of a disease.

Poses

I struggle a lot when drawing poses and my anatomy is very poor but I was kindly introduced to http://www.posemaniacs.com/ to help me polish up on my drawing skills.

As well as using this site for reference, I'm currently reading an Imagine FX magazine called 'How to draw and Paint Anatomy' which is proving to be very useful because it talks you through how to draw all the different parts of the human body and also various animals.

Another method I might use, especially for action shots, is photography.

Leeds City Museum

On Tuesday I went to the Leeds City Museum to photograph anything and everything that might inspire me and help me create some ideas to throw around. I took a small point-and-shoot camera and these are some of the pictures I think might influence my work in some shape or form.

Natural forms have always been of big interest to me because they're just so fun to study. Shells in particular, have some intriguing designs and amazing textures.

As far as ideas go, I'm thinking of possibly creating a male warrior. The shells could be a great foundation for me to create some interesting-looking armour. Accessory wise, shells instantly make me think of tribes which is something I'll definitely explore in more detail. I'm quite fond of the idea of creating a water-based tribe and looking at other natural forms such as corals, rocks and precious stones. I think that the coral and precious stones will help me create a nice colour palette and allow me to discover a range of different textures/patterns.



This image is one of my favourites. I really love the angle and the lighting for this because it fools you into thinking that this is a full scale model when in fact it was pretty minuscule. The shadows cast by the pillars have generated some interesting shapes too, especially on the opposing wall. It looks almost like a cathedral with the arches that have been formed.

The model itself demonstrated a fine example of Roman architecture. This is something that may possibly assist in sculpting an environment for one of my character designs. If I decide to develop this further I will look at more temples and grand buildings in more depth and collect an array of textures. These textures could be anything from rough rocky landscapes to a smooth marble.

This was at the 'Dancing in the Streets' venue that's being held at the museum for a limited time only which is why it comes across as quite random in comparison to the other photos. However, I actually found this section very inspiring because it was bursting with life and colour~

This costume to the left was the one that caught my eye from within the collection. I really like the branches coming out from the back. They're like plants branching out depicting a wing design. It's a very intriguing feature. This also brings me back to using natural forms as part of my study.

As well as the unusual shapes to this outfit, I rather like the colours used. I think the green and orange make a good contrast with one another but it's not too heavy due to the amount of orange used. The black also works well to balance out the shiny materials for the various props.

This area as a whole got me thinking about the use of colour and shapes, and how they can portray different things. This may lead me onto looking at Colour Psychology.

Getting Started

Okay so, I've got my first week of college out of the way and now it's time to knuckle down and tap into my creativity!

Our first brief, given on Tuesday, was to create a character, an environment for our character to be in and learn the basic fundamentals of storyboarding and animation. During this week I've been busy photographing in the Leeds Art Museum and the Royal Armouries in search of various objects, shapes, clothing, patterns and textures to help inspire my creations.

Within the next 5 weeks or so, I'll be posting some sketches of initial ideas, photographs and just bits and bobs of things that have helped influence my work. I hope any visitors find my work interesting and informative. Please feel free to leave comments about how you feel about my work, how I can improve and any constructive crits.

Thanks for reading!

Little Introduction

Hey guys, this is Sarah. I'm just doing a first post and leaving you with one of the inspirational videos that I love. Hope you like it!