Storyboard

( Adventures in the everyday )

First brief was to draw out my daily mundane routine in 12 panels. I was excited to start this new brief and decided to do a relatable morning routine. Waking up by the sound of the alarm and my phone ringing then picking up the phone to stop the alarm and while Im at it my cat just wakes up does a little stretch and jumps off my bed.

Unfortunately I was only able to finish 6 panels before the Tuesdays at the start of this brief I was looking forward to it but soon after lost motivation from time to time as I think I focused too much on my drawing style and had the tendency to make sure everything looks good and showed how I wanted it to portray from my head. I originally wanted to add colour but thought to try it in monochromatic first to see how it looks.

After our google meets session was over I decided to finish that last panel

Heres the first draft of it I didnt get to finish the last panel as that was when i started to lose my motivation.

Here's the finished work of panel 6

These were the reference photos used to help me draw my panels. a photo of my bedside table and my phones case used for panel 2,3 & 4. Before taking a photo it was quite a mess and I had multiple items on top and didn’t wanna include the random mess so I only picked the essentials

This second story was a quickie, as you can see from the stick figure drawing. With the topic of " The unexpected" in mind and my sudden gardening hobby that I picked up from mum ever since covid started I thought it would make a cute story that sums up my plant hobby. I probably over exaggerated the amount of plants drawn on the panels but it felt relatable and normally people would have at least a few plants instead of an army and if anyone knows me well enough I was never the type to own plants even back in Hong Kong which is why this short story is what makes it unexpected.

Here's my little corner of inspiration and if you want to know I have briefly around 50+ plants including aquarium plants. 😁

( Adventures in the neverday )

In this brief I focused more on angles, movement communication, only coloured on things things that were important this will be part of the story.

It started off simple two girls (My sister Kylie and I) would regularly go to Lidl, it's our favourite place to go to ever since we moved to Llandudno Junction since there are many things to see and buy especially random items, plants and pastries there weren't many places to go to in Llandudno Junction except for grocery store like Asda, Tesco and Co Op. In this story we were sent for an errand and did what was now the norm putting on our mask, cleaning the trolley handles.

I admit it was kinda easy yet kinda difficult to draw the expressions with mask on but I tried to exaggerate with the eyes and using exclamation mark, question mark and some squiggles to mean shock, closed curved eyes to signify smiling and music to mean singing and the dots "…" which I'm pretty sure most of these details might've been obvious

Right when they exit panel 33, panel 34 behind them is a door to their actual home world so I wanted to indicate that they were suddenly transported into another world like when you enter Dr Who's Tardis and coming out to another universe, time and space but in this case to the world of their desires. Panel 34 just when they take in their view you can see on her glasses that there's bright colorful reflection of colours from what they're looking at and then panel 35 a final view of what they're looking at. Then in panel 36 justa straight forward cut to a black screen to the next panel.

( Reference Photos )

Luckily my sister wasn’t lazy that day to help me be my model, since we're going to Lidl and I had to bribe her with coffee and yum yum pastries, so these shots were taken in consideration of different possible shot styles as well as angles

these were the reference photo taken at a cost of cold brew and yum yum pastry.

Funny thing happened there were these two ladies who came in from the entrance and took tissues I presume it’s to wipe their trolly handles outside but without realising they didn’t see the stop sign that indicates the automatic doors won't open to exit from that entrance. Which reminded me of my frist time in Lidl It happened to me as well.

( Reference photo )

I the beginning I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with the sky. I love watching the sky change colours from blues to oranges to yellowy sunsets when I was looking through my photo gallery in my phone I came across this blue and pink sky that I took when I was out with the family for a walk to Conwy.It was absolutely amazing and mesmerizing it felt like i was dreaming and the fact that the sky was so visibly pink and purple was just something so unnatural because you'd usually see orangey and yellowy sunsets which I also love watching but the pink was just something I'm pretty sure Ive seen sunsets like these back before in Hong Kong but can't remember when but for some reason that day was the most beautiful evening ever that taking a photo doesn't do justice to it but yeah I used this as one of my reference.

Time stamps:

0:14 - Ice-creams

0:53 - Ice-cream mountain

2:09 - Cotton Candy clouds

While drawing the storyboard the song California Girls from Katy Perry started playing and I remembered the music video replaying in my head thinking they have a few scenes from their music video that relates to my story board which is the ice cream mountain and bushes with cotton candy clouds.

( Experimenting with Lighting )

We were given a task research about chiaroscuro and it was my first time hearing about it since my knowledge in these terms aren't that great. Chiaroscuro, (from Italian chiaro, “light,” and scuro, “dark”), technique used in the visual arts to represent light and shadow as they define three-dimensional objects.

I've taken some photos to play around with light from a desk lamp and phone torch and using my DSLR camera and phone to capture them. With my table lamp I set it in different angles around the plant and using some coloured paper to use as a backdrop so that the shadows are visible.

In this experiment I just used natural lighting source from my window from the right side. The photo on the left is with the window light while the photo on the right is when the curtains are closed but there were still sufficient light coming shining through the pink curtains which gives it that tint on the black paper and making the pattern and colours on the leaves more apparent.

Here I used white floresent light shining from above which makes the leaves look like they're glowing I liked how they end up looking.

Here I used blue food coloring and a glass of water then shine a light through it. it It looked really pretty and fun to play around with it though it was a little heavy to use one hand to hold the glass and light together while holding a camera on the other but I was happy with the result. I didn't have any coloured film or those plastics from a candy wrap.

I played around some more with the coloured water and lit it with a torch. Taking photos from below and looking at how it reflects to the table top and wall.

I notice that when I place the torch close to the blue water the blue light expands like magnifying the light and when I pull it away it starts to narrow and thought it gave a nice effect.

Using my plants as subjects to using the light effect on since It was related to my story. I flashed the blue light and on the plants and see how it looks it made a calming mood well it least to me it did. It sometimes made ripples but was difficult to capture that through a photos

( Storyboard Final Development)

Continuing of The Tales of The Unexpected~, I wanted to finalize the what everyone would see once they open their eyes, just a vast view of plants, ice-cream and everything their hearts desire. And added yellow lighting to make everything look vibrant and magical then on panel 38 would be like a birds eye view of them walking in the middle of their now foreign but familiar place. I didn't feel like drawing them because i started getting lazy and put that on hold for awhile but afterwards forgot about it but thinking about that now i should've just added blobs of colours inside.

I wanted to give that 'Isekai' genre feeling to this scene, Isekai is a Japanese genre of light novels, manga, anime and video games that revolve around a person who is reborn or transported to and has to survive in another world, such as a fantasy world, virtual world or parallel universe. But just make it light since in the end this is a dream even if in the beginning it felt real since they were doing their regular errands.

Then in panel 39, just as they're distracted in their surroundings in a cut to panel 40 Kylie realizes the sudden change in her sister whole look and then just like panel 40, the sister realises the same thing in panel 41 both transformed into different looks and their belongings gone like it was never there. In panel 42 just when the both of them are conversing about their situation and looks something behind the crowds of plants and ice- cream is spying over them and I wanted this panel to have that shaky type of filming style.

( Character Design )

The characters were my little sister and I.

I wanted to include a bit of our interest and characteristics in our character change. To stay related to the storyboard in the story Kylie likes sweets, ice cream and any fast food delicacies. Her recent fashion style was more into pastels and a bit of a modern goth so at times it can be a bit costumey. Then for Jessica she recently started getting into plants and gardening and aquatic plants but only smaller species because of their cuteness.

Character no. 1 Kylie

Character no. 2 Jessica

For a little suspense or after that cliff hanger ending

to be continued...

( Reference Photos)

The gazing from the bushes scene but these were holi leaves from last christmas

I came across a bin with googly eyes and thought this was a perfect representation of objects with eyes it saved me from putting googly eyes on my plants since i cant find my jar of eyes.

( Character Design )

This is Mocha my 8 year old male cat originally from Hong Kong and I've raised him since he was a little kitten. He has an interesting interesting personality but i think all cats have interesting personality he's sometimes photo shy but also sometimes photogenic he does the cutest pose and sometimes looks directly at the camera as if he knows his picture will be taken. I decided to make him a part of my storyboard character since lately he's been my so called 'Muse'. Making a character design for him was fun because of his name Mocha as in the drink Mocha that has milk, chocolate and espresso so I took that deliberately and added whipped cream and chocolate sprinkles and there you have Mocha the cat or Mocat.

Original photo

Edit in process

Final look

Original photo

Final piece

( Artist Research )

Wes Anderson

He writes flawed misfits characters that are walking contradictions, he uses production design to suggest history and character, his choices in outfits for the characters, he uses colour to enform the narrative and establish mood and tone, his cinematography is precise, causal and punctuated, he builds emotional inertia with his edit and connects scene like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. He's conservative with sound design he uses it to make a bold statement. And his off-beat music choices, reflect and enhance the energy of the scene giving his films a unique pulse.

I really like his work style in his choice of playful color palettes against melancholic events to create a unique tone, the production design, simple editing style like straightforward cuts , zoom ins, wide view and staging his scene in two shots since he avoids aggressive editing and long takes with theatrical blocking and when he moves through scene with a quick pace.I also find it interesting how he does alot of symmetrical framing which I find it kinda find it satisfying and connect to that.

Heres a video I made last year when we were at a car wash.😂 I thought the colours reminded me of Wes Anderson's work because of the bright colours in the carwash. It was definatly a missed opportunity of mine to not use the song Car Wash by The Cool Kidzz from the animation cartoon of Shark Tale.

vllo.MP4

Rachel Maclean

First glance upon her work I knew it reminded me of a japanese musician but looking more into Rachel's work it started to look really dark and deep like freaky fairytales but it was still intriguing. especially the fact that she's done most of the work herself like a one man show her SFX makeup was really creepy but the colours they have on is the totally opposite very vibrant and cute.

She produces elaborate films and digital prints using costumes, exaggerate make-up, green screen visual effects and electronic soundtracks. Her artwork is both seductive and disturbing. It sucks the viewer into oversaturated candy coloured worlds and repels them with unsettling themes and narratives. Until recently she has been the only actor in her creations, exploring issues of identity, class, nationalism and gender, whilst referencing narrative structures from pop culture and fairy-tales.

The video starts with a microphone stand coming out of Kyary's ear. The microphone stand is used to imitate the image of Freddie Mercury.

I've always loved this song for a very long time I still listen to this son to this day its very up beat and just remembering how weird but cute the MV was always something I kept replaying in my head whenever i listen to this song. Almost most of her music videos are so weird, random but cute and it's like stepping into a wonder-Randomland.

Rachel Maclean's colour style and freakiness which I quite find interesting to some extent reminds me of this japanese musician her name Kyary Pamyu Pamyu and one of her music videos called PONPONPON from 2011 reminded me of Rachel Maclean's work. The theme of the MV is "Kawaii", which means cute in japanese. The director Jun Tamaki regarded Kyary as a person bending the definition of "Kawaii" cute by mixing it with weirdness.

The video is a mix of 2D and 3D animation. It depicts two worlds, the first of which was created by Masuda Sebastian and looks like a room of a girl; the other is her own mental world, where her face is pink-colored.

The art director Sebastian Masuda, of Fashion brand 6%DOKIDOKI, adopted the randomness of "a room of a girl who isnt good at tidying up", adding taste of 60s-70s.

Louis Wain

Louis Wain was one of the most popular commercial illustrators in the history of England. Born in 1860, his anthropomorphic portrayals of cats captured the imagination of the Edwardian era and his work helped to elevate the profile and popularity of our feline friends to unprecedented heights. Before Wain, cats in England were often thought of with contempt but his work humanised them and helped to show them as something to be liked, admired and even loved.

His illustrations were so popular that throughout the beginning of the twentieth-century most homes had at least one of his famous cat annuals and many nurseries had Wain posters hanging on their walls. “He made the cat his own” H.G. Wells once remarked. “He invented a cat style, a cat society, a whole cat world.”

Today his work continues to attract interest but his legacy is based more on his struggles with mental health than the work that he created. While never officially diagnosed with schizophrenia, many people believe that he suffered from this condition and some have argued that his later drawings demonstrate his psychotic deterioration. While this is certainly a fascinating aspect of his work, it is only one part of a greater story and we should be careful to not allow it over-shadow the fascinating work he created during his lifetime.Despite the happiness seen throughout his work, the tale of Wain’s interest in cats is sadly a tragic one. In 1883 Wain married Emily Richardson. Not long after the couple wed, Emily became unwell. Over the course of her prolonged illness, the illustrator sketched their cat as a way to keep her spirits up. She must have been delighted when, in the Autumn of 1886, she saw their cat depicted in Kari’s book.

It was sad to find out how he got the illness but inthe end created such a beautiful work from it.

( Movie Research )

Exploring the shot style, colour palettes and lighting.

The list of movies I enjoy: Alice in wonderland, through the looking glass, The Nutcracker, studio ghiblies, a whisker away, Rocketman, Bohemian Rhapsody, The greatest showman, etc

Movie: Rocketman (2019)

Genre: Musical/Drama

Summary: Young Reginald Dwight changes his name to Elton John and collaborates with singer-songwriter Bernie Taupin to become one of the most iconic figures in pop history. Set to his most beloved songs, it's the epic musical story of Elton John, his breakthrough years in the 1970s and his fantastical transformation from shy piano prodigy to international superstar.

The scene where he's about to play live in The Troubadour what I like about this scene is how it protrayed how nervous Elton is from the slow motion effect of him walking towards the stage as if he's lost in his blank thoughts with the muffled voices in the background and a ring effect it's the exact feeling you get from being nervous knowing that all eyes are on you watching your every moment and I relate to this scene as well from being in a band myself i think it shows exactly how every one would feel when theyre about to go on stage

This scene shows exactly how it feels when youre about to hit climax performing on stage its the most bizzarre feeling you get which sends goosebumps and hairs up feeling having your moment. How they shot this from behind him as he slowly floats off the ground in slow motion capturing it through his head and showing how everyone was floating off the ground as if eveyrone was on cloud 9

The transition from his younger self as he told his story from the past from its shot style is similar to my storyboard when the character wakes up from her dream. Using the effect 'Dissolve' or 'Blend' to slowly blend in from the previous subject to the next but in the same angle.

I really enjoyed this class as I've always been interested in filming and the story making, and sessions with Mark and the other students were enjoyable. We get to see how everyone created their own story board, I was very indecisive on making multiple stories but opted to stick to one afterwards because of the amount of work. But yeah I'm really looking froward to having another class like this again with Mark and everyone else soon!

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