RAY WYSE
CHARACTER ART - ANIMATION - PREVIS
HONOURS PROJECT
2023 Honours Project, surrounding the exploration of free animation software available to students post COVID-19 pandemic.
Made entirely in Blender, the animatic follows Det. Quinn working late into the night and getting a mysterious intruder, one who might be able to help him with his ongoing case.
INITIAL STORYBOARD
The purpose of the Honours Project was to explore whether or not Blender is a suitable free animation software for students working from home following the COVID-19 pandemic.
The criteria set for the project specified that the character design and animation would be done in 2D using Blender’s Grease Pencil tool. The characters would exist in a 3D environment built in Blender to show how the 2D and 3D elements can interact.
The sequence was cut down after the initial storyboarding to be a minute-long animatic that could be considered a cold open to a larger project.
The final deliverable is a clean animatic created in Blender that utilises both its 2D and 3D tools.
CLEAN-UP
CHARACTERS
The character designs for the animation were inspired by classic detective/criminal alliances in murder mysteries, but updated to a modern fantasy setting.
As a short story with no dialogue, the animatic had to convey the two main characters' opposing personalities almost entirely through their designs. Both characters were drawn several times, refining them until they were simplified enough for the animation style.
THE DETECTIVE
The Detective is a young man, bedraggled from the stress of his work but trying to maintain a professional appearance. His clothing is slightly oversized, his hair is unkempt, and he his neutral expression is always exhausted. It's obvious he has been overworking himself.
Although he doesn't get the opportunity to do much during the short animatic, we can see evidence of his hard work around his office.
THE THIEF
The thief is something that looks... almost like a person. It was important to keep their design layered and pointed, with sharp ears and a jagged smile that implies there's something slightly supernatural about them.
They are first visible as a silhouette slinking into the office and are dressed in practical utilitarian clothing, giving the idea that they are here intending to complete a job rather than carry out a juvenile robbery.
CHARACTER CLEAN-UP
ENVIROMENT
Development of the Detective's Office, full of loose papers and boxes of files, started with gathering a large library of furniture and personal possessions.
After arranging them to make the space feel messy and lived in, a toon filter was applied to all the meshes individually. This meant all the various levels of realistic materials became cohesive, with a dark outline to make the 2D animation fit with it.
The result of this was a 3D environment that a virtual camera could be moved around in, saving time on creating backgrounds if shots needed to be changed at short notice.
