I found this job on the job wall to be interesting and appealing to me as it is based on creating a creature from scratch. I have entirely free reigns over how it is designed and the possibilities behind the design. I find this appealing as a brief as well as I have past experience in work based on animals, so I feel this would be successful for me.
Brief
47 Ronin, in theatres across the U.S. on December 25, is a groundbreaking reimagining of the national legend of Japan - a fascinating tale that has been passed along and elaborated upon through different interpretations in various media across the ages - the legend of the Ronin's ultimate sacrifice and undying honor is now reborn for an entirely new generation.
The team behind the action-adventure, starring Keanu Reeves, is inviting creatives around the world to submit a design of a mythical beast inspired by this epic story and the provided trailer.
One designer will have the incredible opportunity to have their submission recognized by the 47 Ronin team, which will be promoted across the film’s official social media channels in celebration of the U.S. release on Christmas Day. In addition, the winner will receive $4,000.
Opportunity
One designer, as selected by the 47 Ronin team and a representative from the Universal Pictures Marketing Department, will have their submission featured across 47 Ronin's social media channels, including their Facebook and Twitter pages and official website. Additionally, they will receive $4,000.
People's Choice
The highest-voted designer will have their submission featured across 47 Ronin's social channels and will receive $1,000.
Guidelines
- Participants may only submit one file
- Participants must submit their artwork in JPG or PNG and no larger than 5MB
- Participants must retain their original artwork should they be selected as a winner or finalist
- Designs must be original (meaning not using third party pre-existing copyright materials) but can be pre-existing or created especially for this opportunity
- The winning submission may be modified to accommodate production requirements
- Participants must join Talenthouse using an active email address in order to ensure they can be contacted by Talenthouse should they be selected as the winner or finalist
- For all and any matters relating to copyright transfer, winners and finalists will be required to respond to a Declaration of Eligibility email which will be sent to them once they have been allocated in the winner selection
- Winners and finalists must respond to Talenthouse within 7-14 days of receiving the winner notification email or else will forfeit all prizing
I collected some examples of monster designs that are imaginative and original. I think that this is what the brief is looking for in particular. I want to create my monster to be nothing similar to an already imagined one.
These images show that I have a lot of possible options in design terms for the placement of torsos and sizes of body parts.
I would need to think about considering lots of things like evolutionary factors and realistic proportions and making it a believable living creature.
I researched monsters found in famous films, to look for links and characteristics that make them so appealing. The idea of the creature being a dangerous and perfectly designed killing machine is often used, such as in Alien (the Xenomorph) and Godzilla.
Other scary ideas for monsters tend to be human-like beings that are humanoid, so the same height and shape of a usual man, but with a dangerous or horrible twist, such as vampires or lake monsters or werewolves. This may be explained for ease of filming and storytelling, as suits for these monsters are easier to create than obscurely shaped beings. The same can be said in old stories, if the monster is human shaped, it might be able to live in human culture unidentified, as stories usually go.
My next step was considering how to be original with my idea. I didn't want my design to be too similar or the same as a monster already created in the film. I then researched all possible monsters in the film and found these.
This samurai soldier looks to be one of the creatures in the film, so I will try and steer clear of creating my design to look too much like a man, and will not use the samurai designs as found here.
This next monster looks like a hulking dragon type thing. It looks quite reptile and has the classic Japanese style whiskers as found in classic Japanese artwork.
This monster looks to be based on Chinese dragons, bearing the swirling whiskers and long body. I will try and keep clear of having a design based on a similar creature.
This character below looks to be a mutant type monk warrior. In the trailer, he is seen fighting as an enemy. This design is another reason to keep my monster being based on a humanoid creature.
I then started drawing some ideas for what my monster could look like. I wanted it to be very different to the monsters already in the film, so it would have a place in the variety and potentially fit into the story. I started with this design of a flying monster. Almost like a pterodactyl but modified to look more scary and intimidating. However, I wanted something that fits into the Japanese theme. I did some research into animals that naturally exist in Japan and wanted to develop that idea rather than pursue this one.
Whilst researching animals native to Japan, I found the Japanese snow monkey. Apparently they are in abundance and are a common spectacle in Japan. I thought maybe I could take this idea but alter it for my design.
I collected these images to get a general idea and body structure of these animals. I think that this variety of angles and expressions gives me a good insight for further designing and drawing the illustration.
I like how they are completely covered in fur apart from their faces, this shows they have developed to live in cold environments. I think this could look good as the clash of colours between the fur and skin could look interesting.
I began some sketches of this monster design and wanted to get the just of how I want the monster to look. I wanted the design to appear like a giant snow monkey. I want to have my monster large, so I want to deign the illustration to include humans, this will give a sense of scale and will help with the layout of the illustration.
This sketch is not exactly what I had hoped for when thinking about my design. I would rather the illustration perceive the monster as a large, almost peaceful creature that is relaxing in it's natural habitat. This ideas is inspired by the collection of photos I have found whilst researching snow monkeys. I would like their behaviour to appear the same.
This design is a little more clear to what I want to illustrate, however, it does not feel natural and would not look good in terms of atmosphere. There is also little or no character involved and I would like to take this opportunity to make my design emotional and have an impact on the viewer.
This new sketch is the best one, as it shows the monkey in it's natural habitat, and that it has been disturbed by the humans. This gives the image a sense of scale as well as provides a situation for the illustration to be based upon. It provides a depth to the image, telling a story rather than just presenting a monster design. I feel this is important as the brief states that the design is for website banners and use in commercial images. This means that there is more to the image than just being a design, rather a piece of a sequential image.
I wanted the people to be very blank and have little detail, as the focus still needs to be on the creature design. I need them to appear to be like samurai characters , so have give subtle hints such as the swords and the shields on the backs.
The main aspect of this drawing, for me, is that the expression on the snow monkey has to be focal and draw the attention in. I wanted the design to show he is startled or shocked that the humans have joined the scene. I feel this expression show that and is successful thus far.
I placed the images on the page to give a sense of scale, showing that the monster is huge and in it''s own territory. I think that the trees show a good sense of scale as well as provide an interesting sense of space to the illustration.
My next step was adding colour and shading. I decided to add extra shadows to the background after showing my illustration to the group of fellow students. I think that I wanted to leave detail from the background and have the focus entirely on the monster, however, after trying the suggestion, that it looks better with a little more detail on the background.
My next step was to add shading to the trees, giving them a little more depth and as if they are affected by the sunlight too. I think that this works well and adds more character to the design.
Another suggestion for this illustration was to include a person being eaten by the monkey. I first thought this was a bad idea, as I wanted to leave the situation of the design to be ambiguous and difficult to tell whether the humans are bad and hunting down the creature, or whether the creature is being hunted for a reason, such as killing people or something. Thus, his expression is of shock either way. I tried out the design including the person being devoured and think that it looks good. I think the colour brings a little too much attention to the corner of the mouth of the monster, but will look further into this later.
I the thought that I could reduce the size of the setting by moving the humans closer to the monster and having his eyes change direction also. I feel that this feels a little more unrealistic and less atmospheric, however, it chafes the focus of the image to looking directly at the while intuition, rather than the two aspects of the design at first, bringing it together.
I also changed the human characters slightly, making them less bulky and more human shaped. I also made them a darker shade to bring them out a little, as I used the same shade for them as I did for the outline of the monster, which didn't matter when they were apart, but now that they are between the audience and the creature, there needs to be a distinguishable difference. They are also the same shade as the person being eaten, this makes it clear that it is intact a person being eaten in the image.
This image (below) is my final design
Whilst creating this design I felt I learnt more about considering the placement of light and shadows in my work. The variation in length of shadow and the angles compared to the source of light is something I had to consider a lot for this design. I am pleased with the overall outcome and think that with the help of feedback from my presentations that it is a piece worth of my portfolio. I think that it is an accurate representation of my skills. If i were to make any changes to this piece I would probably spend more time rendering the image and adding a greater amount of detail to the creature.
Some challenges that I faced whilst creating this design were that whist still in the sketching and thought process I found it difficult to imagine a monster that would fit in with the themes presented in the brief, making it fit in with the other monsters, but not too similar. I am pleased with my decision to use a native animal of Japan and giving it a twist.
The methods I used for this design are similar to previous styles of work such as the chimpanzee in an armchair. This also used block shapes to build up shading and textures in my designs. I think that this is successful and is maybe a style for me to further pursue.
No comments:
Post a Comment