Backgrounds, yet again

This week I have even more backgrounds! There sure are a lot in my film but I'll be glad to get them out of the way. Hot diggity!

A shot of the finish line at the beginning of the film



A stormy sky for the thunder god. I am not sure how I am going to animate the scene to reach this, but this is the look I eventually want. I've left out the rain for now, I think that will have to animated on top of everything.


A sky that will be used for a background of the wind goddess. Come to think of it, windy days aren't always cloudy. I might not even need to change the color of the sky for wind, but I think I will use it so it contrasts with the normal sky color.


A beautifully blinding sunny sky!



And just as a treat, I thought I'd share a lost panel:

I was going through my storyboard panels and forgot I had this one. I changed the plot a little, and with it the location changed, so this became obsolete. It's too bad, I thought that panel was rather cute.

Comic Book part 1

So here is a page of the comic book. It's a little ridiculous I had to spend time designing something that will only be on the screen for a few seconds, but this is the way of animation.

Sadly, I am not used to drawing huge muscle-y comic book men, and I think it shows. Can't say that I'm really happy with it, but I spent too long on it (or so it felt) to start completely over.

Well, at least that's one page done with. I think it's better if I work on a couple rough animations now than do the other page, though.

Even more backgrounds

Some more backgrounds! I think I enjoy the zoom look way too much.

This is actually a background for the VERY last shot in the movie. Do the off-set halftones work, or should I just do away with them?


Here are some plain old clouds, for the few shots I have on the very top of the hill. I'll probably have them move slowly across the sky behind the characters.


Finally, an upshot of the hilltop, with a little more detail than I had on the wide shot I posted previously.


Next to come: comic book designs!

More backgrounds!

Here is another installment of backgrounds. Thank you, Photoshop, for making things so much easier with filters. I know these aren't that exciting, but they needed to be done for the Gods' intro shots (one for each of sun, rain, and wind). I hope they look comic book-y enough!




The next post shall most likely consist of more backgrounds. I also need to start working on designing the comic book hero who, sadly, will only be in two shots of the animation. Right now, his temp name is CAPTAIN AWESOME. But for now, Travis just calls him "the hero". Who knows if I'll actually use this name.

Backgrounds!

Here is my first set of backgrounds. I've got the hill, and a sidewalk.


I tried adding a gradient to the hill. Hopefully, it doesn't look too flat.



Also, the textures I used were all from this website: http://local.wasp.uwa.edu.au/~pbourke/texture_colour/

Final Characters and background design concepts

These are the most current designs! The characters are pretty final at this point, but the backgrounds still need a little work. I like the textures, but I think I still need to add some gradation or shadows to make them look a little less flat.

Semi-final character designs

It's about time I updated again! Now I can get caught up with the current concept art I have.

These designs are the final designs of the gods, but the kids have changed a little since this.

Wind goddess, version 2

After the previous post, I settled on the Japanese-based wind goddess.

However, she has since then gone through yet another transformation.

Wind goddess variations and new rival design

In the process of my character designs, the wind goddess has given me the most trouble. It's hard because there aren't many wind goddesses out there who are as distinct as Ra and Quetzalcoatl.


This version is based off of a Japanese painting.


I read about a wind goddess who rides on a ram, but decided to just give her ram-like features.


This particular goddess keeps a bag of wind, and rides on a tiger who walks on a path of clouds.


Also, I redesigned the rival of the main character.

Character designs, version 1

These are the more finished versions of character designs, but still in preliminary stages.

The main kids.


The whole gang (now including the wind goddess on the right)