This week, we had to work on 6 more thumbnails for our world, but this time we had to focus specifically on using tonal range to convey perspective and focus.
With further refinement of the plot and characters for our bioluminescent world, I did my best to focus on creating interesting shots that convey the different places and experiences the ragtag group of characters explore.
In comparison to my previous set of thumbnails, I really tried to think ahead about light sources and how they would appear in black and white. Developing the locations was challenging for me, but I am very satisfied with what I learned from this exercise, such as effectively using perspective lines and creating a sense of depth by focusing on the contrast of the shades of grey used.
I am especially happy with the first thumbnail, with it’s clear distinction between foreground, midground and background.
The second thumbnail was further practice in making objects that are further away have lower contrast in it’s lineart and fill colour.
The third thumbnail gives a view of the Alien protagonist’s spaceship, creating an empty atmosphere through the mostly dark room and single point of light coming from the outside.
The fourth thumbnail was the most challenging thumbnail to complete, and I believe that I didn’t clearly distinguish between the foreground and background elements. The extreme long shot perspective was a new challenge for me as well, but for my current abilities, I believe I conveyed a feeling of size and grandeur well.
The fifth thumbnail was a much simpler concept, but I felt it would be cool to convey the devastation of the planet in a very visual way.
The final thumbnail was a chance for me to really show the current team of characters going on a journey together, and I had another chance to work on the contrast of background elements.
For thumbnail 2, I created my own little robot character who would work as an innocent, absent-minded companion to the main alien character. The robot’s design was inspired both by Clank from ‘Ratchet and Clank’, and BEN from ‘Treasure Planet’, with it’s personality also inspired by Wall-E.