A Laudable Lack of Organisation

My devout professionalism when it comes to the film-making process is...well, non-existent. So I doubt it will come as much of a surprise to anybody to learn that, rather than going through the required layouts logically and methodically, with a sense of order for ease of reference, I've been spewing them out at random. When I've exhausted every conceivable layout and pose from the storyboard I'll be faced with the unenviable task of sorting them all chronologically by scene, then by shot. In creating all this extra work for myself I've come to the conclusion that I am, in fact, a closet masochist. I should just cop to it and start paying some sallow dominatrix to beat me senseless every weekend.

Until I can get together the scrilla to indulge that vice, here are some more examples to show how scattered the whole thing has become:

Two more drawings of the Hunter having gone crazy (a bunch more from this scene were posted here). The latter shot accomodates a double-barreled shotgun being raised into the frame.

These drawings have very little facial detail as they will be silhouetted in the colouring process save for the eyes. To keep the character from going too off-model and unrecognisable without features you can see some consideration has gone into the shape of the head.

Our good friend the Prospective Lay. The pose of her in a seated position was drawn in a manner that allows the character to be placed against two different-angled backgrounds and give the impression that she's shifted her position. Whenever I can cut corners I can, I'm just that crafty.

Hands - they're a bitch to draw on their own, and when they're attached to arms it's even trickier. Lots of erasing, redrawing and staring at my own hand in that position went into these.

That feathery prick of a zombie duck is notable by his absence this time around. Rest assured he'll reappear soon enough...

More O' The Same

Just a quickie to throw some more examples of poses your way. These are from the earlier scenes around the time the Duck and Hunter first meet:

The Hunter at home, unaware of the turn his life is about to take. I was thinking of throwing in his arms sticking to the sofa leather a little bit as an extra detail.

An upper-body shot that will probably only warrant some hair movement, next to a set-up for a basic profile-view walk cycle

The first reveal of the Duck, although this level of detail will only be glimpsed for a split-second (lightning illuminates the design which is otherwise in silhouette). I'm a glutton for punishment.

The subsequent reaction shot from the Hunter (note that with this drawing and the previous one I've tried out some dodgy POV perspective work). This is probably the only example of symmetry in body language used in the film.

Two befuddled reaction shots from the Hunter as the Duck's more eloquent side emerges.

A fairly standard Hunter pose alongside a setup sketch for a forthcoming challenge: The Duck's 'hop' cycle.

These profile shots can be used for reference on numerous occasions, chiefly in the 'first meeting' scene when the Duck is seemingly threatening the Hunter with violence of some sort, as well as a later kitchen scene in which the two are arguing over a missing calzone.

As a plethora of poses are piling up persistently (heh) I don't imagine it's worth posting up every last one as it would fully engulf the blog. From this point on I'll stick to highlights or layouts for specifically complex sequences and give the more boring ones a miss. It's how I keep things fresh, yo.
'Til next time...

An Appropriate State of Mind

Some of you in the UK may have noticed that it's been a little wet of late. Others may be too busy floating through the deluged remnants of the town in which you used to live to be reading this. With some luck Bristol managed to be well-situated for this...situation, although it took me an extra five days to get back home after the trains stopped running out of Cheltenham. This wasn't so much a problem in itself, after all it's nice to get away, I can draw wherever I am and, push come to shove, I can swim. However, when the threat of Cheltenham's water supply being turned off presented itself, I made a hasty exit. I'm a man who likes his toilets in working, flushable condition.
Now that I'm home and dry, literally (derp), I can look back at the last few days' work and acknowledge that my frazzled mindset could only have worked in my favour with these layouts. These are some images from the penultimate scene as previously seen in storyboard and animatic form, in which the Hunter has lost his mind. To make this point clear a lot of the poses are off-model and a little grotesque.

These four are cutaway shots that will be used for reactions to dialogue. There's a distinct increase in stubble and a rockin' case of bed-hair going on, as well as the absence of glasses so that I could throw in some crazy eye-acting.

A reveal of the Hunter in the buff, with some shameless shotgun positioning. Naked + hairy + crazy=funny...as long as it's a cartoon. The proportions of the gun and the relationship between his torso and lower gut are a little off and will need to be redone when it is all inked in.

I hope these have enriched your day. I'm off to run all the taps and flush the toilet repeatedly while laughing manically, for no reason other than I CAN. See ya later.

What A Poseur

What is it precisely that you feel you need to make your day complete? If your answer was anything other than 'Why, to see more of Ben Mitchell's poses and layouts for his film, obviously!' then prepare to be bitterly disappointed.
It's called 'life', chump, get used to it.
However, if that was your answer then get ready to squirm and writhe with unrestrained glee, as that's exactly what you're gonna get! Isn't life grand? Here are a selection from the 'Prospective Lay' scene:

Setting up a walk-cycle, fiendishly framed so that no leg-work will be required.

These three are stand-alone cutaway shots designed to show the Hunter's increasing anticipation of bedding his ditzy gal, and his horror at being cockblocked when the Duck moves in on her

A number of sequences will come from this one, with and without the presence of the Duck, who'll be brought in as a separate layer. Proving that anything can look cute if you can make its eyes (or, this case, eye) big and tearful.

The slightly mismatched proportions of the Prospective Lay's head/body are done to accomodate two differently-framed shots (one of her face and the other of the Duck). I'm pretty proud of the not-so-subtle boob-nuzzling in this sketch and the one previous. It took a lot of trial and erasing to get right. Welcome to my life.

Mitchell's In England...Again

I've been on vacation since the near-end of June, which is virtually impossible for me. The process of switching off, winding down and 'relaxing' is never as smooth or comfortable as it sounds. Time to myself with nothing to do but while away the hours conferring with the flowers (and, I dare say, consulting with the rain) is a lovely concept, but after half an hour the grim spectre of my duck zombie manifests in my mind's eye. "Get back to work, you fucking layabout!" It hoarsely barks at me, "And get a girlfriend while you're at it - you're twenty-three years old, for chrissakes!"
While the Laurentians don't boast many sprightly young females with unaccountably low standards, they do make for an ideal setting to get work done without feeling like you're doing so. As such I returned to the UK with a full production schedule that takes me through to September, the main job for the remainder of July being the surprisingly enjoyable task of creating full-scale poses and layouts which can later be used as visual references for the eventual animation. These are more-or-less reproductions of certain parts of the storyboard artwork, and as they are intended to be rough visual guides they aren't cleaned-up or inked in. To start with, here are a handful from the first two scenes:

Each sketch incorporates both the still elements and an indication of the moving elements, which will be layered separately when properly animated. For example, the Kid's body and the rocks will stay still, while the fish and the Kid's face will have some movement.

This layout accomodates a shot that pans upward, starting with the Kid's legs that walk into shot, going up to reveal his face.

This pic is a set-up for a 'take' (a surprised reaction, when the Kid realises the seemingly-dead Duck has flown away), starting with an initially deadpan expression for emphasis.

A proportional sketch for two shots of the pre-zombie Duck in silhouette (so there's no real detail included, we never see him properly until after his zombification...I think that's a word), one in which the Duck is swimming, the other for when he is mounted which includes the legs.

I've got loads of these to do, so expect a whole heap posted up here the next couple weeks. It's all incrementally coming together...