I really wanted to attempt at creating this background, I had envisioned it since the beginning of this project, although it’s not going to be a part of my final rendered 10 seconds it can still be a part of my progress and I do want to come back and work on this project after submission.

I created the background using the brush tool on low opacity to create the ombre effect.

So to begin with I created the tree in Paint Tool Sai, I start with a basic black shape that I added to using the brush and marker tools which I start to carve out the texture of the tree and the shadow and highlights.

 

I then start to go in with a smaller brush tool to start picking out the details and giving the tree a sharper and more realistic look. Of course, this isn’t going to be a normal tree as it’s a part of my nature-apocalypse so I wanted to create some spore-like shapes and bulges on the side with a glowing light.

 

Now that I have my finished tree I need to map out the rest of the background, i worked from my storyboard so I was aware on where I needed to place the rest of the forms.

I decided I didn’t want to waste time redrawing completely new trees as this one took long enough so I copied the layer and played with the colour and brightness to create different effects. I also had a tree saved from the beginning of the project which I also used to add a different layer  of texture.

Similar to my other experiments with layering and backgrounds I just continued to build and build on the layer until I had all the necessary components. I then played around with the lighting until I got what I liked and then also played with the particle creator to try and make a spore like substance.

As you can see I simply painted and created my layers in Paint Tool Sai and then for the layers such as the grass, foliage, and clouds, I created these in PaintStorm. So what I did was I would collect all my PNG layers and layer them in PTS to make sure that I was happy with the final look and that there weren’t any mistakes that needed tweaking. After that, I simply saved each file as a separate PNG before adding them into After Effects

In regards to the animating I would create the animation in TVPaint, go through all the steps such as keyframes and then outlining, however this wasn’t a very hard animation and the main purpose of this was to check out the compositing and to get a sense on what my final piece was going to look like. Once I had rendered and coloured the animated character I would then export it as a PNG animation and import it straight into After Effects. Then after I have all my components I start to layer them up and figure out what adjustments are needed.

Style-wise overall I’m content with her look, I’m happy to say that this character is ready to be animated and I feel fully competent on her form and aesthetic. Similar to I guess classic anime styles I decided I didn’t want to go down a sketchy line route or anything too rough looking. For me I was drawn to the line work especially as in the past I have kept things slightly rougher and regretted it due to the motion not being as smooth or as professional looking as I would have intended originally.

Very similar to my initial sketches, I wanted her expressions to be big and noticeable, very much like children characters from Spirited Away, Wolf Children and Ponyo. Animators tend to have this style with children where they can get away with over exaggerating areas such as the mouth or the eyes perhaps more than you could get away with in an adult character. I definitely took these charming ideas on bored when forming my character and love how expressful the possibilities can be.