Update part 2

So my last bummer update can be kicked to the curb. I got a desk in my room at home so I've been able to get more shots done, but more importantly, said shots are turning out a lot better than the first bunch i did. I guess i just needed to get back into the swing of animating. I've also been doing some shots in flash, which is extremely helpful in saving me time and frustration.

I have some tests that I'm probably not going to upload soon due to laziness, i still need to do my proof of concept but i want to do like right this second so maybe i'll post that when i've got proof enough.

Ive also officially begun working on the sound elements for the film even though it seems slightly pointless since by the time all the animation is done I'll have to re-time all the sound effects out. As for an actual sound track.. I'm looking for something kind of on the subtle side, but with a hint of Cajun feel to it.

I feel bad for not posting fun things to look at, who wants to read these days, so here, have some doodles:

UPDATE

alright, its been awhile, i feel like i dont have too much to post yet, working on layouts and some rough animation right now.

For those of you who actually watched the animatics so far, well, i've gone and changed things one final time, but i've decided not to post it here for a little while, cause i feel like it spoils the magic if you already know whats going to happen! Its definitely a lot better, still some little kinks to work out..

Animation so far is frustrating, and although its normal to not get a perfect shot on your first try, I would have hoped at least one would turn out decent. Maybe i'll upload some later.

Everything is moving at a slow pace so far, im going to try and set up a desk area at home so im more motivated to work there since sitting on my bed doesnt make for good animating.

Ahh fooey.

Hot diggity dog its...

Gatordog. WUFF!

Okay, here are some character pages and whatnot of good ol' Annabelle. Just got done with her ref, and i did the expression sheet over the weekend, oodles of funnnn.

Gatordog is just your average happy-go-lucky, 10 foot long puppy!

Animatic take two. Or three. or maybe five.

Okay.. i've been picking away at this animatic, its improved a lot from the first one, which can be found down the page a bit, but im still having trouble really finalizing everything. Especially the gator fight scene, it still needs some work but i stink at actiony type scenes.
I'd really love some ideas/suggestions/critiques on this, i want it to be really good (duh) but i feel like im missing some simple, obvious things. I left almost all of the original dialogue in this one even though i ended up cutting a lot of it since most of it isnt necessary and I had forgot that it might be better to have no dialogue just so i would have a wider range to submit it to festivals.

Its also about 40 seconds longer than it's target time, but the only parts i'd consider cutting would be the river montage part or pretty much hack the ending down so that after the attack it would cut to them eating the gator by the fire, no grandparents or homely warmth and love. Gah.

Still working on designs for the grandparents as well as the frog. Also unsure about music but since im taking sound design this semester i'll be able to bat out pretty much all the sound/musical aspects of the film by the end of this semester.

Oh snap.

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Someone on deviantart linked me to this, a dude and his best alligator buddy, how freakin awesome is that!?!?!? I'll tell you, its pretty freakin awesome. I need one. If only i could fuse a gator and a dog....

Gatorgirl- the girl without a name!

Okay well not really, i've been debating her name for awhile now. Originally it was going to be Melody, then i was thinking Emma just cause it sounds nice with Annabelle, but then i found out Mel's main character is also named Emma so that seems like it'd be weird, but really, Gatorgirl's name is completely irrelevant to the film, you dont really hear her name spoken. It's just for myself. So i might just keep it Emma and continue to call her Gatorgirl. Or the only other names besides those two i was considering were Abigail or Callie. Such a tough choice!


Some info about her:
Gatorgirl is supposed to be about 8 years old, she lives deep in the heart of a giant bayou with her grandparents and she's been there pretty much her whole life, whereabouts of her real parents are unknown. She's homeschooled by her grandmother, but the majority of her days are spent running wild around the swamps with her gatordog, who acts as a companion and guardian. Shes very imaginative, and really has to be considering her only friend is non-english speaking. Gatorgirl is bold and independent, and she likes to feel like shes the leader of the pack and in charge of any situation, and gatordog happily obliges those wishes while still providing her with such a sense of security that she sometimes gets herself into more trouble than she can handle (but not more than a gatordog can handle!). She's the queen of the bayou, and every day is a new adventure so she's pretty much having the time of her life.

Although i could probably go ahead and write her whole life story right now, i'll leave it at that.

Gatorstuff

Some random arts i've done over the past week or so. I sort of introduced a new character into the gatordog world, at first just for fun, but now he's got a little 3 second feature in part of the film now, along with Colonel!

I guess its obvious, and therefore safe to say that the boy is pretty much based off of my boyfriend, as a character he manages to befriend gatorgirl (who should be getting a name soon) and gatordog, who doesnt like him just for the fact that he steals attention away from her. They meet one day in the swamps, realize they've both lived just a bit farther past what they hadn't explored up until that point. Kinda fun, gatorgirl needs some more human interaction anyhow.

And this last image is an id i made for myself for my DA page, and since gatorgirl conveniently looks like myself with lighter hair, i figured i'd be fitting if i was wearing her top and scarf and luffin on gatordog, with a special appearance from good ol' Colonel and Gatordog's favorite chicken, who has been named Dinah.

Gatorhome Concepts and ANIMATIC!!!

Okay so this is some of the original and (still in effect) ideas for kind of the lay of the land where the story takes place. Basically they start off in the clearing where Gatorgirl likes to camp out, then they make their way over towards the house where they steal a pie and get chased away down a hill towards the dock and hijackable raft is. This part i left kind of fuzzy since it doesnt actually really matter where they end up floating, but they make their way over, down and around the stronger flowing river (compared to the more stillwater swampland that surrounds the main house island) and its there they have the encounter with the gator.

As was to be expected, the story is slightly changing/ in the works of being changed. I realized i havent actually even said much about the storyline because i dont have a complete animatic or boards (because of all the changes) but thats inconvenient for anyone whos actually trying to follow the production of this wonky little film, so here. Take this, my first draft animatic. It has no sound, but i think you can follow it pretty well. Very unlike my previous film Gladiator's animatic -__-.



yeah i had to upload it onto youtube since blogger is fail at uploading videos. maybe thats what everyone does and Im just slow about it. Hah!

Onward!

Sort of a speedpaint i did last night, i've been wanting to do a poster so i can print it out nice and big to keep me motivated, this isnt exactly what i had in mind but I like it all the same. Its been so long since i've done any sort of paint like this... i feel rusty!

Trying to finish up character sheets
Gonna start working on layouts
already sleepy :(

Early Gator Concepts

Last semester I left school wanting to do my film about gatordog, but without a very solid story and plot. I had always pictured gatorgirl as an older teen, like 16-18 years old which is probably the only real big change i've done to the film at all, actually. That and her grandparents, who she would have inherited the house from, are still alive. I guess all in all the film im doing could easily just be earlier on the timeline of my characters.

My initial ideas were all a little too crazy, like the FBI or someone coming to capture gatordog, the house getting caught on fire, and them having to run for their lives. All in 2.5 minutes? Ahh ha yeah.. Had some fun sketching the dastardly duo though.

These are all some of my early sketches, that last set of Gatorgirl is actually my first shot at her, funkier outfit though i guess she hasnt really changed too much. Gatordog hasnt changed much, i've removed that scaly patch off her stomach and the spikes down her back for now, i dont like the idea of her not being completely snuggly i guess. I've kind of refined her a little more since these, but yep, pretty similar.

Welcome to Gator Country

Figured it might be nice to see where it all started:




So this blog is hopefully going to be well kept will all my production for my film, which has finally been decided on.

Gatordog is a character i created last year for my characters and environments class, which i then later attempted to sculpt for my sculpting class and then just for kicks made a character ref which is awkward and is the only time I ever drew her like that. I also have some pencil tests from some of the tech classes i'll upload eventually as well. She (and her added human counterpart) have come a ways since i first made her, and after a very long struggle i think i've finally found a decent, workable story for my senior film.