Week 5 saw us complete a number of individual and group tasks in relation to character development.
Our first was to create detail in our chosen character, such as facial expressions or how the character moves, and to relay our reason for choosing these particular details.
Bouncer Facial Expression Eyes large to anthropomorphise character, becoming narrowed and pupils dilating in anger as customer tries to sneak in
Bouncer Movement Pincers move in and out while spinning web to cocoon unwelcome guests/victims
To help me improve, and become more comfortable sketching again, using the ‘pencil grayscale’ filter in the ‘artistic effects’ option in MS Word to assist me, I’d also completed the following sketches over the past week at home of the animals that would each form part of my character fusion.
Also, after searching for inspiration, I sketched these scenarios for my animation to relay the personality traits, and the height/proportion of my character; some of which will definitely be included, in one form or another, in my final outcome.
However, although this practice provided me with a welcome boost in confidence, the time and effort taken to produce work to this standard at this point in the course, made me realise that simple line drawing, and using my original Krita character would be the best way forward for this particular module. The simplicity of this style would too, I feel, mirror the now somewhat out-dated Hammer Horror theme I hoped to use.
Each group were then asked to collate their characters into a single line-up, and to present this, and their associated character traits to the class.
Character Line-up: Group 2
Character Traits: Group 2
Finally, we were asked to consider which group/world we’d like to work in for the rest of the semester, to submit our decision by the end of October and to, before the next lecture, begin discussing the final animation plot narratives. Having completed such extensive research, and being in this team from the outset, I chose to stay. However, changing the group dynamic yet again, and also losing the animator of our establishing shot, some chose to leave, and we were re-joined by two original team members; one of whom I’d previously struggled to work with. However, listening to the other groups’ presentations, I feel everyone was finding groupwork challenging to some extent.