Bedroom opening backgrounds

bedroom with night lighting

Hallway is looking good!

So, I have been trying to work hard on my 3d backgrounds and I finally finished the hallway. Lighting and all! The top picture is filtered in photoshop and is ideally what I want the scene to look like. The picture below is without the filter.

Also, I talked to my composer and he is beginning working on the score for the film. It will be primarily piano and I can't wait until it is all finished!

Hallway Backgrounds almost finished!

Here are two pretty much completed screenshots of the hallway! It is looking good, and I really like the lighting! :)

More textures

Hallway Textured

So I have been pressed for time since I am balancing 7 classes, two jobs, and working on my thesis. I have been aiming to get the backgrounds done so here are the two major scenes for the film.

Bedroom Posters

It might look like a random posting, but it isn't! There are a lot of small decorations that I am going to need in the rooms, especially with pictures on the wall. All though they might be a little sophisticated for a young child, these are the posters that I made to put inside the bedroom.

Character Design

So,

I want to start working on some character designs and more concept art, so I decided to color one of the panels in my storyboard to get an idea of what I want.

This is probably one of my favorite scenes within the whole film! The bear design is changed though, but this is the ideal design I want for the girl.

Here is the concept for the teddy bear and the shadow. I want the night/dark scenes to be inspired by the work of Tim Burton..a little quirky and eerie. Again, the design of the bear is

most likely changing.

The character design of the shadow is something that nightmares are made of. This is the final design for the shadow, I do not intend to change any of it!

3D Hallway

So I started messing around in Maya to start making my backgrounds, I think I am on a role! I might not be the best person at 3d animation but I am pretty happy with how it turned out. I just need to start adding in textures, pictures, and better lighting for an eerie look. Plus, the frames are pretty square, so if I have the time and I feel ambitious enough I might tidy them up in zbrush..who knows!

Hallway Concept Daytime

Part of my concept is the change between color based on day and night (which is always a little scarier). So the tones I chose for the morning scenes have lots of yellows and light browns.

Thesis Storyboard Final

Finished Wallpaper Design

I have been having too much fun trying to design an aesthetic look for the film, especially with the wallpaper! Here is a finished design, I just have to make sure it will tile correctly in Maya for texturizing!

Concept Art

Here is the ideal concept for the film, the long dark hallway is one of the important backgrounds used in the chase so I wanted to use dark colors, mostly purples, browns, and greens. This drawing is really rough so it doesn't look as pretty as I want it to be, but you get the gist of the look and feel of the film. Again, a lot of inspiration came from concept art of the Haunted Mansion.

Wallpaper Patterns

So something silly and minor I have been working on, but has been really fun, is the wallpaper for one of the scenes in the film. There is a chase scene down a long hallway and I wanted to make it as eerie as possible, since everything seems a little bit scarier in the dark.

The pattern looks a little like tribal markings, based on vintage wallpaper and the Haunted Mansion (yes it has strange wallpaper). They are made too look like faces and will be in dark purple.

Nightmares and Fairytales (working title)

Screenplay Notes

So today I broke down my original storyboard into sections to see if it follows the standard formula of storytelling. There is a lot of work that needs to be done to strengthen the plot and progression of the story but this is what I have been working on so far.

Act One

Stage #1 Setup

the everyday life of the hero; establish identification with hero by making likable/relatable to the audience.

innocent, child-like teddy bear- "the favorite stuffed animal"

wakes up while the child/owner is asleep, just as every night- explores, creates, has a carefree life, imaginative, light hearted

Turning Point #1: Opportunity

new opportunity, new desire, will start the character on its journey

bear finds toys under bed- creates an opportunity to create, play, and use imagination

Stage #2 The New Situation

reacts to the new situation that resulted from the opportunity

bear creates an imaginative environment- creates a city of blocks and destroys the new world; takes charge of the other stuffed animals within the room

Turning Point #2: Change of Plans

will transform the original desire into something else with a clearly defined end point

story concept is defined, and hero's motivation is revealed

noise/imagination turns into a nightmare

causes shadow monster to awaken- hides in the shadow of the bear (as if he needs to face his own demons)

Act 2

Stage 3: Progress

takes action to achieve its goal

Turning Point #3: The Point of No Return

hero must fully commit to the goal; had the option of turning back, giving up on the plan, and returning to the life he had at the beginning of the film

through the reveal of the shadow monster the bear has no choice but to confront or run away from his fears; his ultimate battle with courage

Stage 4: Complications and Higher Stakes

achieving the goal becomes more difficult, hero has much to loose if he fails

how would you fight a shadow monster? if the bear fails he risks his own safety as well as the safety of his owner

Act 3

Stage 5: The Final Push

hero must risk everything he has, and give every ounce of strength and courage to achieve the ultimate goal

the bear tries to run away from the shadow monster down a long hallway (everything looks scarier in the dark) as if it is a chase dream. it is a final attempt to lure the monster from the sleeping child

Turning Point #5: The Climax

hero must face the biggest obstacle of the entire story- must determine own fate

the bear is grabbed by the shadow monster and dragged back down the hallway into the belly of the shadow- struggles to get away but ends up getting torn to pieces by the monster and left on the floor until day breaks

Stage 6: The Aftermath

ends with the hero's objective; revealing the new life the hero is living now that he has completed his journey

girl/owner finds the bear in shreds- brings the pieces to her mother in the morning; she sews the bear back together

ends back where the story began- girl is put to bet and is shown hugging the bear- has the courage because of the love given from his owner

Log Line

After a long summer, and not working one bit on my thesis... I came up with a log line!

A bear struggles with courage as he fends for his owner in an interplay of light, dark, and an incubus of shadow.

And some new character designs!

Junior year has come to a close, summer has just begun, and Senior year is approaching fast. This means it is time to start the pre-production of my Senior thesis animation film and I thought I would create a blog to start up the process and just keep my work together to see how everything is coming along (and so you all can see!)

Updates will be coming slowly but surely, but at least this is a start into an intense year!