Smile in the Jungle

I really have to stop making these!

AB:TMC part 2

Yes.. YEEEEESSS!

Too bad the youtube ruins the quality when the pig's "propaganda video" starts. Below is a screenshot what it was supposed to look like. 

Here's also some concept art that was made for the second episode.

"So, this parrot goes to a bar... with a lion.."

I think I'm slowly getting better at these.

I still haven't found a style that pleases me. The parrot is too complicated and the lion has way too much similarities with Brittney Lee's artwork (she's amazing, I''m telling you!). Let's see what I can do next time.

 And some close-ups..

Animatic

I don't have much time so I'll just write as quickly as possible. Sorry!

I uploaded an animatic on vimeo. You can watch it HERE.

Here's a little background info for this video:

A week ago I was going to a job interview at Finnish animation studio. I cant give you any specific details right now but I was looking for a job as a storyboard artist. Unfortunately, my portfolio didn't include any storyboards. So, I had to do one before the interview.

I really wanted to build a storyboard around a dialogue that had been already recorded. I chose a dialogue from a movie called The Unbreakable (2000, © Touchstone Pictures). Bruce Willis does a great job delivering his lines and somehow manages to be calm, sad and slightly angry at the same time.

In two days I managed to create this animatic. I could have done it faster but I really wanted to capture all the emotion that was going on in that dialogue. And because the scene was very short I had also to think very carefully and make sure that every shot has a meaning.

So yes, I managed to finish it before the interview. How did the interview go? Well, actually I didn't have a right moment to show the video for my employer. So he didn't see it... yet.

Final thoughts:

I am quite pleased with the video. The only downside is the fourth picture. It sort of "breaks" the mood because it seems off.  I showed this animatic to my storyboard teacher and even she agreed with me that there's something odd about it.

If it looks so odd, why did I draw it in the first place? Well, I actually had an idea behind it until later I realised that it didn't work out so well. I'll try to explain what is the idea behind that picture.

In the close-up (3rd picture in the video) the old dog is telling a dark secret to the puppy. The secret is that two human children almost killed him. In this shot he is almost talking to himself to remind himself what happened to him.

In the fourth picture (the picture that I find problematic) the old dog rises his voice and now he is talking to the puppy. We are looking at him from puppy's perspective. That's why he see  the back of his head. He's also trying to avoid looking at the puppy because he is embarrased what happened to him.

And that's my explanation. Sort of.

If anyone has critique or something to say about the video, feel free to write!

Coloured paper

I noticed long time ago that I have large amount of multi coloured paper pads. I got them probably five years ago from my father but I never found any use for them. After staring at that pile for a while, I had to do something with them. And this is what I did:

 Incredibly simple work. Not my cup of tea but it was good enough for first try.

 I wanted to try something more detailed but ended doing this mess. The colours are insane because surprisingly there wasn't as many colours as I wanted.

I realised at this point how important is to plan all the layers when you are working with paper. The shadows give so much life so you better use them well. Next time I will be better!

And of course I had to do two business cards. Sizes are 9 cm x 4 cm if I remember correctly. However, the owl is made with markers.

It was fun to work on these but you seriously have to plan how you are going to build the card and also prepare to work all day.

Behind the scenes: AB: The Motion Comic, part 1

Alright! Here's something related to Angry Birds: The Motion Comic.

These are the very first sketches of Red. The design is off in almost every drawing because I was struggling with the shape. Even though the Angry Bird characters are made of simple shapes, it is hard to make that shape to work when the character is showing emotion or doing something physical. The characters don't have feet or wings so you have to focus on the face. Everything has to be clear, the viewer has to know what the character is thinking so that he/she can follow the story. That means that you have to use very extreme expressions but tone it a little bit down so that it suits the mood and the style. It's tricky but also fun.

Some of you may have noticed that Red gets a black eye right from the start when the pigs attack. That black eye will be on his face to the end of the story. That little detail may not look special, but that alone makes the story more grittier and more personal to the character.

And now about the DVD...

When the first episode was finished, we made a DVD version of it and sent it to Rovio. They were amazed and said that they don't get gifts like this very often!

The back of the DVD case isn't special, it has screenshots of the comic and the text is the same as on youtube.

And of course I had to draw silhouettes of the characters on the DVD. Can you recognize them all?

See you all next time!

Angry Birds: Motion comic

It's time to show what I have been working on. A little "tribute" to Angry Birds. Or should I say, a little bit more "dramatic" explanation how the war between the pigs and the birds started. Why? Just because.

I'll write more about the video later. Maybe I will show some sketches and storyboads.. who knows.

You can find more information and news about the video from Facebook and Twitter. And if you like the music and want to hear it without sound effects, it can found here.