Final Version

Latest Workreel

Been busier than ever, currently trying to finish up cleanup. here's the latest reel:



Password: trueblue

Keep in mind that even the scenes that looked finished are not.

Scene 18C - 8-Bit Rescue

Should be updating much more than I have been, but I've been working nonstop on the film. It's not uncommon for me to be at the studio working for 12 hours.

Sc18 is my most important scene, since it's the dream sequence that is the essence of the film. Here are some screenshots from it with the final 8 bit designs:






I mainly wanted to pay homage to Mega Man, Metroid, Super Mario Bros. and Kid Icarus. Though the heart is purely a Donkey Kong thing.

Backgrounds 9, 10, 18 & 22

Trying to get at least one background painting done, here are some of the latest:



This one is for a close shot of Blu's feet at the bar.





Club Quasar looks a little empty sans character, heh.

Third Animatic - NOW WITH DANCE ANIMATION!

Pass: "trueblue"

3 rough BG's + 1 in color!

Pardon the lack of posts. Here are some backgrounds I've done:

Color Script

I actually did this a while ago but never posted it cuz I never finished it. At this point I'm certain I will, though I probably should.



The basic idea is that green represents negative emotion towards the protagonist Blu. Towards the end of the film, things will get very acid and toxic looking, reflecting Blu's mood. Also, the color saturations will peak during the dream sequence.

Scenes 05 & 06 - COMPLETE

Of course, there will likely be revisions, but for the time being I will leave them as is. Pardon the low quality, but I can't upload every little snippet to Vimeo.






Here's the process:

Scene 06 - Preview

Scene 06 is only 29 frames, so it seemed like a good one to start off with. It's the one where Blu turns is head as he's scanning the club for potential single ladies. I'm starting small so I can get back into the groove of paper animation, as well as figuring out my pipeline.

Here's a color test of what a final colored frame will look like:



Here's my line test for the same scene:



It may seem quick as is for what is really just a casual "lookin' around" kind of glance, but it works well with the musical beats and rest of the film, you'll see.

Extras - Model Sheets (clean)

I've got this week off, so I've had lots of time to work on the film. I've almost got my first scene completed, but there was an issue with the frame coloring process so it got delayed a little.

Anyway, I also had time to make some definitive designs for all the extras in the club scenes:

Bad 80's Colors?

I just read this post John K made about 80's backgrounds on the Jetsons:

Jetsons 85 Backgrounds

This is of concern to me due to the obvious 80's influence on my film as well as my use of pinks, purples and violets. The funny thing is, this isn't the first time I've heard someone say you shouldn't use purple, yet I'm still not so sure why.

I guess you can't please everyone. I just don't see what's so wrong about using funky colors.

First BG

I've been working on a color script lately, but before even finishing, I jumped the gun and made this background for the shots of Blu at the bar.



Wanted to focus on basic shapes without too many details and no outlines so the characters can really pop.

Main Characters - Model Sheets (rough)

I reserve the right to adjust the designs if necessary once I start animating. Sometimes, you only realize certain aspects of a design don't work once you start animating it.

Script

Here's the original script I wrote up, story is largely the same. Still, I don't think this is a story well suited for script form.

THUNDERSTRIKE Script

Second Animatic

Ok, I've made a few tweaks here and there, as well as added a few details. Mostly I changed exactly how the ending unfolds. I think this version is a little stronger in it's direction, hopefully for the better. Overall I wasn't too concerned over acting and reactions, these are things I will work out in later stages.

Thanks again to all who left comments and suggestions on the last reel. I took everything into consideration and in many cases tried them out, but this is the version I thought worked best in the end.

Once again, the password is "trueblue".



EDIT: Please omit the fact that Rose's empty glass is missing after the dream sequence.

Club Studies

Layout has always been a weak point for me, so in the last couple of day I've been trying to work out the look and feel of the club. I have a good idea in my mind, but it's proving difficult to execute. Also, I don't want the entire movie to be a color saturation fest, so I want to get a little less neon in the club scenes.






I feel like maybe I should perhaps be minimalist and work more with shapes.

Reference

Here's some examples of the reference I've been using. I don't have all the exact sources, but many are self-explanatory. The last one is actually Vega himself, heh heh. I think I might sneak him into the film.

Character Development

Although I've had a pretty good idea of how I want my three main characters to look like like for a while now, I've still taken the time in the last couple of weeks to pinpoint the details and try-out a few alternatives. I've also been thinking about the look of all the extras in the club.






Notably, I've changed how Rose's headband is worn, swapped Noksek's hairstyle again and adjusted Blu's facial structure to be more square and less angled to differ more from Noksek. Each of the the main three are not only represented by a single color but also by basic geometric shapes.

Blu (from Italian) - Blue - Square
Blu is a dreamer. Though he is part of the hip crowd, he is somewhat at the lower echelon of it since he is more of a thinker than a dooer. Tired of the typical flaky female fair, he aspires for a more meaningful relationship, but doesn't know how to find it.

Rose (from French) - Pink - Circle
Rose is sweet, clever and fun. The perfect girl. Needless to say she's already taken.

Noksek (from Korean) - Green - Triangle
Noksek is at the top of his game. Looks, fitness and the will to succeed. He acts first and asks questions later and that's why he's got the girl.

Poster

Regarding the title

coup de fou·dre (ko̵̅o̅t fo̵̅o̅′dr')

1. a thunderstrike
2. a sudden, intense feeling of love

Etymology: Fr, lit., bolt of thunder

---

"Pour certains spécialistes, le coup de foudre serait la naissance immédiate et irraisonnée d'un sentiment amoureux pour une personne inconnue dont l'apparence physique correspond à notre idéal."

My rough translation...

"According to some specialists, coup de foudre is a sudden irrational feeling of love towards a stranger with our ideal physical appearance."

It's irrational. Blu doesn't really deserve the girl. He's a silly dreamer looking for love in all the wrong places.