Adaptation & Professional Practice Part B - Initial Drawings

 

 

 

Adaptation & Professional Practice Part B - Possible Modelling Style

Looking into the art styles of Backwater Gospel in more depth I have taken to the styles well and look to incorporate the style into my own working. These are the planes from the character designs for the Tramp, separate planes that have image planes UV mapped to them and then simply curved round to sculpt the head.

 

 With the front plane there was a grid that displayed all of the tessellation and it seems like the modeling has been done upwards to fill out and form the face. Then it seems like plane is curved from the edges to form round the then would be face.

 Then they simply marry up the planes and from what I could derive from it is that the back of the head (hair plane) isn't warped round and is instead pushed up to make a flat back of the skull.

All of the head assets are very low poly with low tessellation, with most of the detail actually coming from the textures instead of the detail made from the model. The mouths are interchangeable and marry up to the facial expressions made by the character.

 

Backwater Gospel: Concept Designs

 

 

Telltale Games - Good Omens Inspiration

The Wolf Among Us

 The Wolf Among Us is set in the year 1986, decades before the events of the first issue of Fables. For years, many of the magical and mystical lands described in myth, legend, and folklore (known colloquially as "the homelands") have been occupied by an enigmatic tyrant known only as the Adversary. To escape the Adversary's marauding armies and totalitarian regime many creatures and characters known as "fables" fled to the mundane world and created an enclave known as Fabletown in colonial America, now located in modern-day Manhattan. To mask their presence from the native humans (referred to as "mundies") all non-human fables have to purchase an enchantment known as a "glamour" which allows them to appear human, or be relocated to a rural community known as "The Farm". 

The Walking Dead : The Game

 The game opens with Lee Everett on his way to prison after his conviction in Atlanta, Georgia. In route, the deputy sheriff's car in which he is travelling strikes a walker and careens off-road. The officer is killed in the crash, and Lee takes shelter in a nearby home, discovering a little girl named Clementine hiding in her tree house. After learning that her parents had previously left for Savannah, Lee offers to protect and care for Clementine, and help her find them.

Game Of Thrones : The Game

At the Red Wedding, the Stark bannerman Lord Gregor Forrester and his heir Rodrik are killed by the Freys. Lord Forrester's squire Gared is sent to the Wall to escape the revenge of the ascendant Boltons, and his daughter Mira, a lady-in-waiting for the King's bride Margaery Tyrell, looks for support for her family at the court in King's Landing. But the young heir to House Forrester, Ethan, is nonetheless killed by Ramsay Snow, bastard and enforcer of the new Warden of the North, Roose Bolton, in order to gain control of the Forresters' valuable Ironwood reserves. Lady Forrester sends her brother, Malcolm, to search Essos for her son Asher.

Blackwater Gospel - Good Omens Inspiration

As long as anyone can remember, the coming of The Undertaker has meant the coming of death. Until one day the grim promise fails and tension builds as the God fearing townsfolk of Backwater wait for someone to die. 

Bo Mathorne - Director
Arthur Gil Larsen - Animation Lead
Mads Simonsen - Technical director
Thomas Grønlund - Animator
Rie Nymand - Animator
Esben Sloth - Art Director
Martin Holm-Grevy - Environment lead
Tue Toft Sørensen - Animator

Music composed and performed by:
Sons of Perdition

Adaptation & Professional Practice Part B - 70/80's Tv Attire

I have combed through everything I could to find out what year that the book 'Good Omens' takes place, it only states what places the book takes us to. So taking this into consideration I thought using the date the book was originally published might be the best point of entry to designing my characters. The book was published May 1st 1990, but I have chosen to look at some British Television police drama examples for inspiration. I am looking to put the characters in a 85-90's environment, I think the following are good examples to designs their costumes into.  

The Sweeney

British police TV series which revolutionized the genre on UK television in the mid-1970s starring John Thaw as a hard-edged detective in the Flying Squad of London's Metropolitan Police.

Life On Mars

After being involved in a car accident in 2006, DCI Sam Tyler (Simm) wakes up to find himself in 1973, the era of 'Sweeney' type policing, Mark III Cortinas, and flared trousers.

The Professionals

This series chronicled the lives of Bodie and Doyle, top agents for Britain's CI5 (Criminal Intelligence 5), and their controller, George Cowley. The mandate of CI5 was to fight terrorism

Adaptation & Professional Practice Part B - Dogma Research

Dogma (1999) Is a comedy, adventure, fantasy written and directed by Kevin Smith. It stars an selection of well known actors/actresses; Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Chris Rock, Alan Rickman, Linda Florentino and Salma Hayek. An abortion clinic worker with a special heritage is called upon to save the existence of humanity from being negated by two renegade angels trying to exploit a loop-hole and reenter heaven. 

The whole comedy factor in the tale is the fact that the antagonists are supposed to be quite angelic in both approach and appearance, but they are far from perfect. Swearing runs amok throughout the film to lighten the 'heavy' tone of religion and keep it as a spoof and something not to be taken seriously. The film even begins with a disclaimer stating not to take it to heart and enjoy the film, every film in a way can upset audiences in some way or another. But doing this, it feels like Kevin Smith could cover his ass while he makes a mockery of the catholic faith. 

The characters I look to highlight are Azrael, Bartleby and Loki, some of the films religious deities. Now Bartleby and Loki are the angels who have been sent to earth after a fall out with the big man upstairs, while Azrael is the demon creating havoc and looking to fuel armageddon. Bartleby and Loki are presented as 'a couple of guys' looking to get home. In a way we feel sorry for them and wish they succeed on their pilgrimage, then we find out that because of some stupid thing with reality keeps them away from heaven or all existence must pay. The only thing that the two characters have a connection with their spirituality is the tasks they must complete, they cannot contradict themselves because they are above humanity and therefore can pass divine judgement. Now instead of being presented as very powerful figures, they look quite normal don't they?

Adaptation & Professional Practice Part B - Initial Designs

Aziraphale Designs

Crowley Designs

Still experimenting with the costume layouts for Aziraphale and Crowley here and I think the best idea was to use the trench coat ideas from number 3 of each initial ideas. Then experiment with some designs that could be inbedded into the costume? adding symbolism into their designs.

Adaptation & Professional Practice Film Review - Sita Sings The Blues (2008)

Sita Sings The Blues (2008) was an independant project that was written, produced and directed by american illustrator Nina Paley. It was her very first feature film so she took much pride and consideration into her work, taking 5 years to complete the film. The film has hailed several awards which includes Best Animated Feature at Ottawa International Animation Festival and a Special Prize  at the MONSTRA festival. The film is free to all and was released to download in early 2009.

The film itself was divided into two, with one half being the explanation behind the Sanskrit poem Ramayana. The prince of a prestigious kingdom is exiled to the wilderness with his devoted wife Sita. They survive 14 years in the wilds away from society. The second half is related to Paley's own experience with love, her husband was offered a short contract abroad in india and ever since travelling over there they have grown distant from one another. Nina has incorporated an old poem to relate to her own experiences on the matter.

From the transitions between each section there are three illustrated motifs that share their own opinion on the story of Sita. They bring humour into the equation by contradicting the story and giving both modern and contemporary views on the relationships between the characters. The film has both eastern and western influences running throughout, the Bollywood styled dancing and musical sections bring the film back to the Ramayana poem with style and looks to captivate a wider audience than most influenced animations. Overall I recommend this film to people who are interested behind some of india's culture and teachings and those who watch animations with a lighter tone.

Adaptation & Professional Practice Part B - Crowley & Aziraphale Design Inspirations

I researched some possible attires for Crowley, I was most drawn to the largest costume on the screen because of the embodied designs into the trench-coat. For me it illustrates how old the design could be and intricate as if carefully planned. It could then help the viewers realise he is very stylish and intelligent. This paired with the addition of the glasses and yellow snake eyes could make for a sinister character design.

Also it would make sense for there to be some form of patterning into his clothing because he is first introduced as a snake to the audience, even down to the fact he hisses his tongue every now and then. I understand that the book explicitly says that he wears all out black attire, but I would like to break the colour into a crimson shade also, because then I could bring another colour into creating Aziraphale.

To fit Aziraphale into the same kind of environment as Crowley there needs to be similar or opposite design choices in his attire, I thought that the waist coat could have heavenly symbols on it and really sell him as a pure certified religious character, but toned down slightly. maybe small hints towards this. Ideally I would like to use light greys and brilliant whites for this character, maybe the scarf he wears could be a tartan green?

Adaptation & Professional Practice Part B - Aziraphale & Crowley Styles

 BBC Radio 4 Part 1 Illustration

As part of the Radio 4 live adaptation of the best-selling novel 'Good Omens', They issued some illustrations to capture key moments from the novel to highlight the significance of each stage to the listeners. In this particular stage its the beginning of the story, so it tells us the origins of the character and the significance of the items they wield. 

 Dining at the Ritz

In there many encounters together, they tend to go to the more posh and expensive meets. The Ritz is one of these places. It seems fitting for two head honchos for good an evil meet up and sit on opposite ends of the table to discuss how things are. 

 Steampunk version

The steampunk version was different to vision, although it could have taken steps further down that path, with the only plausible links I could see were the animatrons in the pieces. Tackling the style away from realism may give me the originality I desire.

Discussing Business

When Crowley and Aziraphale meet it is always to discuss what each other had done to kind of measure egos. But in there meets they seem to be able to tease each other but always seem calm and collected instead of at each others throats, trying to assassinate each others plans. Its like they understand the need for balance.

Adaptation & Professional Practice Part B - Character mood board

 Aziraphale
The angel that chose to safeguard humanity from the forces of evil. He and Crowley are each others opposites and are here to balance the good and evil. Aziraphale dresses quite smartly and is often described to be someone caught in the closet within the library which would hint to the kind of attire he would wear. In this image I've matched him up to some possible connections to his persona and overall characteristics. He is the type of character who would become obsessed with the object matter, the book of prophecies he searches for engrosses all other tasks. A simple book that would be disregarded by others but holds such a significance with the character.

Adam Young
The anti-christ and the centre of the plot, he is given to the hospice by Crowley and is switched into humanities fray. He hasn't been taught of his satanic heritage or his redemption in divine intervention. Adam can unknowingly alter the reality around him to what ever is his choosing. In 'Good Omens' he is said to have more power than Metratron and Beelzebub. The characters I have linked Adam to also have this trait, they can alter minds or realities to their own personal gains.

Crowley
The demon that is the counterpart of Aziraphale on Earth. He is here to carry out Beelzebubs plans for the end of days. He loves being evil but through his many years on Earth has come to realise that he wishes to save it from the coming rapture. A demon that aspires to be an angel in his actions by altering the plans for the apocalypse. Unlike Adam, Crowley accepts his demonic side and uses it to alter small things around him and cast 'magic'. He is seen to be charming but blunt in his conversations, dresses smartly and has link to the serpent in the garden of eden.

Adaptation & Professional Practice Part B - Character Profiling

Aziraphale

- An angel who CHOSE to reside on earth and safeguard humanity from the forces of evil.
- Regards all forms of life as sacred and all beings connect to one another.
- Understands the importance of the end of days and his role in the apocalypse.
- Calm and reserved, spends much time on his own collecting reading literature from humanities history. Obsessed in this effort.
- The exact opposite of the demon Crowley. They decided together to be the subtraction of each other.
- Well presented, very clean and decisive on his choice of attire.
- In one reference he wears an old magicians cloak and is described to have learned very old magician trickery.
- Favours tartan designs.
- Wears expensive clothing.
- 'Gayer than a tree full of monkeys on nitrous oxide'.
- Keeps his workshop Dusty clean.
- Gets caught up in what he's doing and doesn't let anything stop him from achieving his goals. Even if that means letting something innocent perish (Dove in coat).
- He sees Crowley as a friend and as his greatest adversary.
- No heavenly halo or wings.
-Angel of the eastern gate of heaven

Crowley

- Said to be the serpent that tempted Adam and Eve in the garden of eden.
- Known as Crawly originally but changed his name to Crowley.
- Questions everything around him and their purpose in this world. A highly inquisitive fellow.
- He didn't mean to join the hell horde and regards himself to have been on the wrong side of the coin at Satans fall to the darkness.
- Described to not have horns or wings.
- He listens to queen a lot in his car, indicating he is quite the fan.
- Hates the idea of the end of days and is actually the one  who suggested altering the fate of humanity and putting it to chance once more.
- Has dark hair, good cheekbones, wears snakeskin accessories, and does weird things with his tongue. Like a snake.
- Tends to wear sunglasses in times where there is no need for them, to hide his yellow demonic eyes.
- Owns a posh pristine flat in Londons Mayfair district, with an overpriced and exuberant home cinema system. White leather furniture.
- Despite his demonic persona he hates creating suffering in others.
- Both highly regard Tchaikovsky and Beethoven.
-Owns an very old Bentley that can do unearthly speeds.

Adam Young


- The anti-christ, the adversary, destroyer of kings, angel of the bottomless pit, great beast that is called dragon, prince of this world, father of lies, spawn of satan and lord of darkness.
- An unfortunate mix-up of babies during the birth of the anti-christ has him going home with the wrong family.
- He grew up without divine influence or satanic influences. Still able to unknowingly alter the world around him to his choosing. 
- He uses his power to shield the people around him and the things he loves. 
- On his eleventh birthday a hellhound is released to seek out the anti-christ. A massive black hound that turns into small canine. 
- Once he learns of the suffering of the world he endeavours to protect what he loves. From this the conclusion is made to destroy the world to make it anew, thus carrying out the original fate for humanities demise. 
- His power far exceeds the metatron and beelzebub in all affairs considering the apocalypse. 
- Prevents the apocalypse from occurring.   

Adaptation & Professional Practice Part A - Infographic

Adaptation & Professional Practice Part A - Step Ten

Adaptation & Professional Practice Part A - Step Nine

Adaptation & Professional Practice Part A - Step Eight

Adaptation & Professional Practice Part A - Step Seven

Adaptation & Professional Practice Part A - Step Six

Adaptation & Professional Practice Part A - Step Five

Adaptation & Professional Practice Part A - Step Four

Adaptation & Professional Practice Part A - Step Three

Mudbox: Crafting Mjolnir

Adaptation & Professional Practice Part A - Step two

Adaptation & Professional Practice Part A - Clock Changes for Step Two

Adaptation & Professional Practice Part A - Step One

The first step - Getting more sleep/rest

I am leaving the transitions to the final stage of editing, just attempting to compose my steps on screen initially.

Adaptation & Professional Practice Part A - Infographic Start