A virtual drive around New Orleans...

I've been looking at the town environment for a bit, for our 4th year film 'Krokodi'. First I tried to gather information that would help me do some designs for it. The first half of our film is set in New Orleans. We agreed at the start of the project that we liked the French Quarter architecture. Decided to go for a virtual drive around New Orleans (courtesy of Google Street View!) The first picture is a photo of a page from my sketchbook, with some screenshots from Google streetview, with my added notes of environment props that kept appearing everywhere, including the same style of street lamps, bins, water hydrants and balconies:

 Sketches of compositions based from 'Krokodi' animatics, and adding details of buildings on top based on research and paintings of New Orleans environment:

Some small-sized acrylic paintings, quite liked the angles of the building in the middle painting and the different bright colours of the buildings in the last one:

 A bigger acrylic painting with coloured pencil:

The thing I was most happy with in this digital painting was how I painted the sky, rather pleased with it :) Maybe I might possibly do some Matte paintings for our film?...

Added some digital paint to a sketch I had done in my sketchbook. Tried to used a variety a bright colours. Quite like making all the buildings a variety of colours:

Started to use red pencil and pen to sketch out some scenes based on camera angles from the animatic and sources of inspiration. Tried to make the angles and lines not perfect and a bit more stylized for the sort of style we are going for:

I then added some digital paint to block out some possible colours, and add in the characters and burger van to see how they fitted in with the environment:

It's not long until our deadline for this semester so I'm cracking on with the production bible work and organising my team to make sure we stay on schedule, it's all go-go-go! Here's the link to our group blog which features all the pre-production work so far: http://krokodi.blogspot.co.uk/

P.S. 'Jurassic Jess' is scheduled to go back into production as soon as this semester is finished - Jess has most definitely not been forgotten! :D

http://jurassic-jess.blogspot.co.uk/

Jurassic Jess update

Layout drawings for the environment from my sketchbook for 'Jurassic Jess' and also some drawings to show the placement of background props within the environment.

Prop designs for Eygptian Canopic Jars (done in watercolour and coloured pencil):

Concept artwork for the light streaming through the window onto the T-Rex skeleton (done using digital paint):

As a group we are currently finalising designs and are getting on with the storyboard. We aim to have an animatic by the end of next week. :)

Environment and colour concepts

The two pictures below are environment and colour concepts done with watercolour, coloured pencils and digital paint. The first is cold light (like it's overcast outside - dull) and dark room to represent when the T-Rex is sad, lonely and broken. The second is warm sunlight and a lighter room to show the T-Rex in a happier mood once he has been fixed and has "warmed" to the girl: