The Bond of Four - First Tutorial Session

    After rushing up that steep hill (This is probably one of my most informal blog posts, but then again, how often am I actually ever formal?) and taking some time to catch my breath (Having just left my home 10 minutes before 9.30am)... I wounded up having a very progressive discussion with my lecturer and covered quite a few things during this first session (And as usual, went over the time limit, ehehe...), while she approved of my plan to make a short animation and a concept book to go along with it, she had quite a few tips and suggestions I was more than happy to take up on.

   Having finally shown Celles et Ceux des Cimes to her (Seeing as it is one of my biggest inspirations as to why I wanted to go in this direction in the first place), I was told that I could bring the animation duration down from 2 and a half minutes to 1 and a half instead. If there is time, I was also suggested to work on some animatics for scenes that will not be featured in the animation itself (Though, I am beginning to wonder if these particular scenes might require some voice acting in them... if so, professional voice acting wouldn't be required, right? Or should I go that extra mile and find some experienced folks that will be willing to do just that?).

   Aside from the content one would expect of any concept art book (Such as character, setting designs and storyboards), the book will further expand upon the story, character biographies and the world design of The Bond of Four, I was reminded to give my character designs from big, strong action poses, and now to stay too hung up on the concepts as compared to the animation itself. Seeing as I am taking a lot of influences from eastern cultures, the colour palettes should also be driven by them, and so quite a bit of research into these cultures is required (Such as the symbolism as to why certain colours are used in some of their costumes).

   Speaking of the eastern cultures that I will be looking into, I was once again told to narrow it down a little more instead of attempting to squeeze zillions of asian cultures all into one design, something that I am actually pretty relieved about being told to do, actually. Still, it wouldn't hurt to include some references from a few others and subtly incorporate them into my character design later on, if it works that is.

   The last bit of advice that I was given before I was chased out was to attempt to follow the same practice as Cartoon Saloon and develop concept art boards that closely (If not almost exactly) present what a final frame would look like in the animated trailer itself. And... just be smart and learn how to utilise whatever concepts I have into the animation itself (As well as reuse a few things such as tree designs when possible).

  

   And oh... try to use a back up drive during this entire project (Especially since this project is surely going to grow to ginormous proportions as I progress over the next few months, my poor laptop), and especially if I am intent on using one of the college's Cintiqs.

   AND OH! Other inspirations I had wanted to include to the bibliography and moodboards were Samurai Jack, Secret of Mana, Bee and Puppycat and Steven Universe (I am just going to list them down here for the time being until I get the chance to add them to the list).

   ... And also take a refresher course on After Effects so I can fully utilise it for my animation.

The Bond of Four - Moodboards

   I honestly should have started way earlier on my mood boards for my COP3 project (Which I had only just put together earlier this week), and I am certainly not making the same mistake again for this module. These were the mood boards I quickly put together for my first Extended Practice tutorial session to give my lecturer an idea on how exactly I am visualising this entire concept.

   This first board focuses mainly on the overall aesthetic of the project,
it is obvious that this project will be much more colourful as compared to Lurk,
and will have a very Asian flavour to it (Despite being a mainly fantasy based world
that I hope to build from scratch, so this also means researching into more fantasy
based works as well, which should include fairytales, myths, and so on). 

This one focuses more on a series of traditional costumes from various ethnic groups,
as seen from my old illustrations, a lot of inspiration and influences were actually taken from
Chinese, Japanese, Indian and Peranakan costumes. I attempted to include some more
variety this time round.

Some ideas on landscapes once I get started on designing the universe itself.

And here are my main inspirations and influences in terms of... everything.
The art and colour style, the character and costume designs, the narrative, etc.
Some of these examples have been applied when I had first worked on Bond of Four
all those years back, and now a few new inspirations have been added to this collection.

The Bond of Four - Rationale

Respondent: Rebecca Wong Si-Lin_253249 Submitted on: Tuesday, 1 December 2015, 10:58 AM

RATIONALE

1. Where are you documenting the development of Extended Practice online?

   While everything will be documented through my Studio Practice blog, I have considered creating a Tumblr blog for it as well, especially if this will be a series that I will be able to continue and expand upon even after this module as ended.

2. Broadly speaking what are you interested in exploring and why?

   
While the project is highly fantasy based, I will be looking into a variety of ethnic cultures to create a diverse world that would strongly portray the message of Racial Harmony that Singapore have been so strong about since it became an independent country.

3. What you want to do during this module? Be as specific as you can at this moment in time.

If you plan on working on multiple briefs to demonstrate your practice, identify clearly each brief.

What 

   For my extended practice, I will be aiming to produce a short animation (Of 2 minute duration) and a concept art book (Consisting of character, prop and setting designs, storyboards of various scenarios (Scenes that will be featured in the animation short and concepts) and a look into the story’s universe itself as well as the characters’ relationship with one another) to go along with it.

   Titled “The Bond of Four”, the story takes place in a fantasy-based world where four siblings are separated from one another at a very young age, only to reunite with one another several years later, one now a humble scholar, one a daring pickpocket, one an assassin to a wealthy king and another a crown prince. And soon they will realize that it is fate that has brought them back together as a war will soon wage between two kingdoms. 

Why 

  This project was initially presented as a concept for a stage play, while it was not necessarily stated that the universe the story would be a non-fictional one, the designs were heavily based on a variety of Asian cultures and religions (Such as Chinese, Malaysian, Peranakan and Japanese). In the end, this series was created as a way to show further appreciation for not just Asia’s wide variation of colorful cultures, but to also promote racial harmony. 

Who

   Seeing as this series had originally been designed as a booklet that would be handed out to those that would be viewing this hypothetical play, this was originally aimed at teenagers and adults (When considering the age groups that would possibly be interested in attending such plays). Again, seeing as this had been created to promote racial harmony, the series is aimed at roughly the same target audience, but can now be further extended seeing as it is presented in a more reachable form of media.

How

    In terms of my research, aside from looking into a number of inspirations (Which will include movies, shows, video games, comic books and music) for my animation, I will also be referring to various animation, concept and fashion books.

   The concepts will allow me the chance to play around with both traditional and digital mediums, especially when experimenting with an art style that would work for the overall series.

   The animation itself will be worked on in Adobe Photoshop (Though I hope to perhaps make some attempts with Flash and TV Paint Animation if I am able to better familiarize myself with either or both over the next few months) and will be touched up on in Adobe After Effects

   Music and sound for the animation short will be composed by a collaborator whom I have worked with on a few other projects in the past.

When

   While the module’s final deadline is on the 6^th of May 2016, there are several other deadlines for presentations and critique sessions. A gantt chart will also be made so that I will be able to stay on track over the next few months and efficiently progress and produce the work needed for the final product.

4. Explain how this will be developing your Specialist Practice?

   Such a major project will also be a huge addition to my portfolio, which will be required by the time this module ends. I wish to explore into all the areas (Visual Development, Character Design, Storyboarding, Scriptwriting and Animating) that I hold a deep interest in, and by the end of this module, I should be able to confirm which areas in particular that I think I will work better in and should focus more on.

5. What do you need and by When?

Perhaps a refresher on Flash might help, and if anyone has had experience with TV Paint, receiving assistance from someone that has used it before would be beneficial. An available Cintiq would also be of great help.

6. Will you be working on a group project or brief?

( If YES explain )

   ... No.

7. Are there any stakeholders in your project?

If YES, explain who they are and what their responsibilities are? - This is essential if you've got a Live Brief from a client

   At the present moment, I have definitely confirmed that I will be collaborating with an ex-Leeds College of Music student for the music and sound of my animation.

8. What, where and when do you need to research. Begin to identify and artists, practitioners, companies or organisations that you will need to talk to. This could include getting to speak to people at conferences, events and other organisations. 

   I might be visiting a few studios over this period, and during then, I can hopefully show some progress for this project and receive some proper advice on how to further my concept art and/or storyboards before the deadline.

9. Please identify at least 6 books, periodicals, websites or other media that may be informing your rationale. Please use Harvard referencing. 

Books

1.     DiMartino, M, D. and Konietzko, B. (2010). Avatar: The Last Airbender - The Art of the Animated Series,US: Dark Horse.

2.     Louis, W. (2015). Super Turbo Atomic Ninja Rabbit Groundworks, UK: The Line.

Games

1.     Capcom. (2002) Onimusha 2: Samurai's Destiny. [DISC] Playstation 2. Osaka: Capcom

2.     Capcom. (2006) Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams. [DISC] Playstation 2. Osaka: Capcom

3.     Clover Studio. (2006) Okami. [DISC] Playstation 2. Osaka: Capcom.

4.     Game Republic. (2005) Genji: Dawn of the Samurai. [DISC] Playstation 2. Tokyo: Sony Computer Entertainment.

5.     Heart Machine. (2015) Hyper Light Drifter. [ONLINE DOWNLOAD] Kickstarter. California: Heart Machine.

6.     Ignition Tokyo. (2011) El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron. [DISC] Playstation 3. UK: UTV Ignition Entertainment.

7.     Level-5. (2010) Ni no Kuni: Dominion of the Dark Djinn. [GAME CARD] Nintendo DS. Fukuoka: Level-5.

8.     Omega Force. (2004) Samurai Warriors 4. [DISC] Playstation 4. Tecmo Koei.

9.     SEGA AM2. (2000) Shenmue. [DISC] Dreamcast. Tokyo: Sega.

10.   Square. (2000) Legend of Mana. [DISC] Playstation. North America: Square Electronic Arts.

11.   Square. (2001) Final Fantasy X. [DISC] Playstation 2. North America: Square Electronic Arts.

12.   Square Enix. (2003) Final Fantasy XII. [DISC] Playstation 2. Paris: Ubisoft.

13.   Ubisoft Montreal. (2014) Child of Light. [DISC] Playstation 3. Paris: Ubisoft.

14.   Tecmo Koei. (2012) Pokemon Conquest. [GAME CARD] Nintendo DS. Tokyo: The Pokemon Company.

15.   Tobyfox. (2015) Undertale. [ONLINE DOWNLOAD] Microsoft Windows. US: Tobyfox.

Movies and Shows

1.     The Book of Life (2014) Directed by Jorge R. Gutierrez [Film]. US: 20th Century Fox.

2.     Children Who Chase Lost Voices (2011) Directed by Makoto Shinkai [Film]. Japan: Media Factory.

3.     Kung Fu Panda (2008) Directed by John Stevenson and Mark Osborne [Film]. US: Paramount Pictures.

4.     Kung Fu Panda (2011) Directed by Jennifer Yuh Nelson [Film]. US: Paramount Pictures.

5.     Millienium Actress (2001) Directed by Satoshi Kon [Film]. Japan: The Klockworx Co., Ltd.

6.     The Secret of Kells (2009) Directed by Tomm Moore and Nora Twomey [Film]. UK: StudioCanal.

7.     Song of the Sea (2013) Directed by Tomm Moore [Film]. Ireland: StudioCanal.

8.     Spirited Away (2001) Directed by Hayao Miyazaki [Film]. Japan: Toho.

9.     The Tale of the Princess Kaguya (2013) Directed by Isao Takahata [Film]. Japan: Toho.

The Bond of Four - Introduction

Compilation of all the illustrations that I had produced for my old end of year
project.

   Much like my Context in Practice 3 project, I will be working and expanding upon an old project of mine back from my old art academy end year project. 

   Titled the Bond of Four (Though, who knows, I might actually change the title over the next few months as I work on it), the story focuses on four siblings whom are separated from one another at a very young age during a freak storm accident, everything was lost during that fateful night, and that included their little village and even their parents. Fast forwarding to a number of years later, two of these siblings happen to chance upon one other by fate (With one trying to pickpocket the other), only to find themselves going on an adventure to find their two other siblings, whom are about to be caught up in a particularly large political affair between two kingdoms.

   Will the siblings be able to reunite in time before a war is waged? Only time will tell.