Visual Narrative 2D: Lip Sync

1.0 Initial Idea

In terms of the aesthetics of my animation I wanted to follow a monochromatic colour palette that uses a spectrum of blue tones for the environment designs and grey tones for the characters. I also wanted the characters to be humanoids in which their limbs and features would be relatively exaggerated, appealing to the playful and comedic tone of the audio. Moreover, the characters would retain a sense of minimalism by applying a line art/ doodle like approach to them. I ultimately love the contrast between the colours as well as the balance between the simplicity and buoyancy of the characters with the intricacy and complexity of the backgrounds. However, to expand on my moodboard and strengthen its ability to support my animation I feel I could have delved into more real life based photos, gathering extensive inspiration for environments and characters especially in terms of their clothing.

Nonetheless, while I am intrigued by the general basis of this mood board, I do not feel completely invited and passionate about my chosen audio and do not want to settle on my first idea. I want to consider looking at other audios as well as exploring different time periods to really exploit the creative freedom this project gives.

2.0 Mood-board

After reflecting on my last mood board, I decided to make adjustments to the overarching aesthetic of my animation. With that said, I chose a new audio that explores a males interpretation of a woman’s menstrual cycle in a comedic manner. The audio encouraged me to explore various dynamics that would amplify/expand on its already existing comedic factor, hence I was compelled by youthful and childlike characters to contrast/juxtapose the mature comedic nature of the audio. It adds an unexpected element as well as an underlying sense of unconventionality. I want the characters to further emulate the stylings of a traditional cartoon in which the scale of their features and exaggerated and their limbs contradict the standard composition of the human anatomy. I want their clothes to balance out their immature and youthful demeanour by resembling characteristics of edgy and cute street style. In terms of the environment, I want the tones to be monochromatic grey tones to contrast the buoyant colourful tones of the characters. A fear I have with taking this route is that the characters may feel disconnected from the background and the entirety of the animation appears flat. To alleviate this I intend on conducting experiments, this would involve testing the background with and without outlines to deduce which route fuses the most harmoniously and naturally with the characters.

3.0 Character Design

In an attempt to conjure a new aesthetic for my animation and explore various directions I could take, I decided to create some rough character sketches. From the rough sketches I’ve deduced that I want the characters to possess a degree of cuteness to contrast the more mature nature of the audio, ultimately increasing the comedic appeal of the animation. Moreover, after experimenting with the monochromatic tones, I love how playful the characters feel. However, I think it would be fun to experiment with other monochromatic tones such as red to see see how that would communicate the mood and personality of the characters.

These are some potential characters for my animation. I like the idea of using sharp or round edges depending on the personality of the characters. Additionally, I want the characters to appear kid like and immature to contrast the mature humour of the audio, I feel this may heighten the comedic nature of the animation and add a level of irony. However, to create a balance I would add deeper and more mature colours to the characters. The middle three characters instigated thoughts of gravity falls and felt they resembled the characters too much, detracting from their authenticity and level of endearment. Nonetheless, I want to manipulate these characters further and perhaps put them in another world context to elevate them. Moreover, I found the idea of the characters having a baby like body funny and was most intrigued to explore this outcome.

3.1 Character Design: Colour Tests & Palettes

3.2 Character Design: Lighting

3.3 Character Design: Turnarounds

4.0 Character Design Workshop

I found the character design workshop to be highly insightful in which it encouraged me to think outside the box and consider the unconventionality of characters as well as what features support them in communicating their personality. I also became thoroughly conscious of how varying applications of line, construction, colour and texture can lead to drastic changes in the portray of your character. From this workshop, I have decided to explore more character designs for my animation to exploit the creative freedom I have with this project. I may consider taking the approach of looking at conventional objects and deriving characters from them as we did in class, I felt this method provided a solid foundation in directing my thoughts.

5. Storyboards

6. Backgrounds & Lighting

7. Mouth Shapes and X-Sheets

8. Background Art

9. Colour Tests: Background & Characters

10. X-Sheets: