Friday 30 September 2016

INFLUENCES WITH EARLY SKETCHES

Friday 30 September 2016
Norma Green is a character that came from two themes, 1950s America and B-movies, and so I've been looking at those two subjects to influence these sketches. These are early and so nothing is set in stone, so it would be nice to have some feedback.

Norma Green


Myself and Julien have already done some drawings of what we think Norma Green would look like. She is heavily based off Marilyn Monroe (hence the punny name) but with a sci-fi/alien look to her. I've personally imagined her to parody the legend of the Roswell aliens that crashed in New Mexico, so I draw her with that in mind. However myself and Julien haven't quite yet settled on her final design, but this is pretty much as far as we've got.

Possible Robot Supporting Character


We've also discussed a possible second character for the animation. It would give us more to work with in terms of choreography. So far we've thought of maybe having a robot character, as it fits in with the sci-fi theme and also would allow Norma Green to stay as a unique character; if there was a second alien character it may take the focus of the audience off from her. When sketching some robots I looked at machinery from the mid-twentieth century such as cars, vacuum cleaners and computers. I tried to create some unique robot designs, but I'm worried they may look a bit generic.

Space Craft/UFO


Another idea we've discussed is having a UFO for Norma Green to enter or exit with, however this idea isn't set in stone quite yet so it might be scrapped if we don't need it. Anyway the rough sketches I've done here are influenced from 1950s jewellery, diamonds, 1950s dresses and space landing crafts. I decided not to look too much at UFOs and concept drawings of alien space ships as that may make my designs look generic. I wanted to make something that's more glamorous.

Tuesday 27 September 2016

SUMMER MUSINGS

Tuesday 27 September 2016
Original drawing for 'Norma Green' by Cat
-
Where the project got sparked off


Odds and ends created during the Summer break
-
Attempt at converting the pink fabric of the Gentlemen Prefer Blondes gown to the golden foil material used to wrap satellites with 


Discussion on possible strategies to work around the tight dress + limbs animation





Monday 26 September 2016

PROJECT PROPOSAL

Monday 26 September 2016
MINOR x MAJOR PROJECT

Type of project Animated Musical Number

Core concept 
In a both heartfelt and comedic fashion, an alien counterpart of Marilyn Monroe unravels her personal history through song, performing an original piece that pays a tribute to the great classics of musicals and sci-fi.
Research path

Rersearch into:
  • Animation pipeline
  • Rigging techniques that allow squash and stretch
  • Dynamic song writing and in particular story/journey-centric song writing
  • The Broadway 'sound'
  • Hollywood culture and icons
  • Parody and pastiche techniques
  • Musical tropes
  • Science-fiction B-movie culture

Goals
To create a cohesive, catchy and showy animated film that displays good skills in animation, staging and writing (and to have fun with it!) 
  • Collaborative partnership with composer and singer
  • Effective visual storytelling and character development
  • Evocative character design
  • Good quality of lip-syncing
  • Engaging and fluid animation
  • Emulous of Broadway tunes but hopefully noteworthy song

Outcomes
  • An animated short with a duration of 2-3 minutes
  • A main (singing) character animation-ready (possible second (supporting/dancing) character to be duplicated for ensemble)
  • A collection of props and sets with a varying degree of complexity to them, relying on the art of matte painting
  • A nicely-rounded, classic-sounding solo song
  • An engaging and wacky Making Of book

References
  • Norma Jeane Mortenson/Marilyn Monroe
  • Classic MGM/20th Century Fox musicals
  • Later musicals
  • Popular sci-fi imagery

Sunday 25 September 2016

WELCOME TO TSYGAN Prod.

Sunday 25 September 2016
We proudly present this brand new joined blog that shall be hosting our 3rd Year project and record its development.



Tsygan Production © 2014