Extended Practise: Final Film Character Refinement and Exploration

 Extended Practise

Final Film Further Character Exploration

• This week:
• I explored possible designs for the main character and side characters of my short film.
• What went well:
• To finalise the Goose character, I put together a comparison sheet, which compares the two designs which the group and I had decided on, before. I found that the added dynamic pose really helped solidifying the decision of which face shape would be best to use. 
• I additionally gave him a laptop bag, to add more to his character and it felt logical, as he pulls out a laptop whilst on the plane. 
• Here is the comparison sheet:

• I additionally started on the exploration for the Air Hostess character. Using Reid's designs of the bird in their storyboarding, I explored several design concepts. I tried to keep to a smaller and stumpy shape, similar to that of Mimo from my Context of Practise module, as I already had knowledge in animating that body shape. 
• Here is my initial visual inspiration page:

• I produced two pages of shapes and poses, to-which I asked my group again for feedback. They liked poses/designs 2, 3, 7, 10, 15 and 16 the most. I was able to then take these designs and try to come up with a final four designs for them to choose from. They particularly liked the designs with the feather tufts on the chest and the chubby cheeks. 

• With these designs I believe that I was able to capture the personality and appeal of the Dove Air Hostess. I wanted to portray a friendliness and enthusiasm, almost acting as a contrast to the personality and expressions of Goose.
• What could be improved:
• The design for Goose still needs a turnaround and model sheet produced. I started to draw out the roughs for the turnaround, however after feedback, I felt that the body felt too large in comparison to how I was drawing him before. I also need to make the neck slightly longer, as it loses the "goose-neck" he had before. This is something I will work on over this week.

• Furthermore, a final design needs to be settled upon for the Air Hostess, as her shape needs to fit right with her character. I will continuing with this, this week, by getting more feedback from peers and correcting her shape to fit feedback.
• I did tend to stick towards a specific shape when designing the Dove, as I leaned more towards a rounded, soft shape. I think in the future, I should be more experimental with body shapes to really explore character silhouette. This is something I will consider with future designs and projects.
• Next time:
• I will be finalising the turnarounds and  main character concepts.