Pandora comic - Influence map

As a part of Oatley Academy Live homework we had to create an influence map for our personal project (comic - Pandora).

This has been a great exercise. The main highlights from this so far are;

1. Developing the world in which the character lives in. This is broken down into 'whereabouts' and 'when'.

Whereabouts = Iowa, America. Why? The only real reason for my choosing this is my affinity for America when we travelled over there in 2012. Just loved it.

When = 1980's. Why? Being an 80's child has a somewhat bearing on this. However a major factor that I want to capture was an era in which technology was not so dominant. Hello 80's.
I feel this era will help my decision making within the story be more 'primal' and not so reliant on the hero been able to 'google' out of dangerous situations.

2. Influences and artists

For the influences and artists I've chosen barely touch the surface. Just so many awesome artists out there. However I do feel that Guy Davis, Mike Mignola and Carlos Huante really capture that essence that I am after. That huge creature by Guy Davis sprawling over the city - that for me is a key image. Just awesome.

Also under influences are colour scheme ideas and keys. Reference points for Celtic design and symbols.

Above screenshot image for study of 'entity' character for comic. Reference artists as above.

As always, thanks for visiting. Take care and hope to post more soon.

Pandora comic-story development

I have secretly been working away on my comic story for Pandora. Phew, what a process. Lots, and I mean lots to learn. So before I go any further I need to give a big shout out for these two great resources.

Firstly, Chris Oatley's Academy Live. The resources phenomenal, the people absolutely wonderful . Nothing beats not feeling alone out there in cyberspace. And secondly, Blake Synder's 'Save the cat'. This book 'Save the cat' is awesome. Find the website here.
Cannot recommend these resources more highly enough.

What follows below are screenshots of the processes I have been developing for my comic Pandora.

I have used Visio, a Microsoft flowchart / diagram program for mapping out the story structure. OMG, where have you been all my life Visio. If you need to have processes laid out visually with relative ease then check out this software. 

The logline (Blake Synder): Google 'logline' to find our more. However, in a nutshell it is the pitch to your story. Tremendously helpful when developing your story. So keep this close by...it keeps you on track.

Opening image (Blake Synder): A paragraph that represents the tone / struggle of the main character.

Set up (Blake Synder): A paragraph on the main character's world as it is before the main catalyst takes effect.

Theme stated (Blake Synder): This is the 'what is your story about'. It's message. Really important to keep this close by as well when developing your story.

Catalysts mapped out: By plotting the major catalysts it has helped to gauge how to arrive and move through scenes. We'll, that's the theory anyway. Has been really helpful.

Antagonist backstory: Exploring the story of the bad guys. Something I found super helpful was 'rules of engagement' for the baddies. Having this rule reminds me to be consistent as the story progresses.

Catalyst developed with dialogue: For the first catalyst within the story I am trying to get a feel for how it might go by way of dialogue. This has helped so far and I have continued to use for the other catalysts as well.

Disclaimer: All of the above is the result of the absolutely awesome cited resources above. Also, I cannot recommend more highly if you (yes you) are wanting to learn about crafting a story that you visit Oatley Academy Live.

As always, thanks for visiting. More to follow soon. 

Welcome any thoughts, comments. Have a great day.

Pandora comic test page

This was my first attempt with trialing different colour treatments for a potential comic page of Pandora. I had already decided that the colour scheme for this comic will be analogous. The first image at left is not great. But I had to do this in order to see what I didn't want.

These next images (the left is the same as the top right) - I adjusted the background transparency to see if this would create an interesting look. Still unsure at this stage. But I am certain that the one at left is stronger.
At this point too I have consciously left out any shadowing. The last image (next) I have introduced a basic shading. It is again the strongest of the other options so far.
I hope to soon upload some more tests. One thing I have also considered is texture. This can be as simple as adding linear marks.

As always thanks for visiting. Take care and hope to post up more soon.

Pandora character with background

 

Have tried a new technique. Not so many outlines (dark that is) for the background and main character. Am really happy with the result as it feels softer.

Colour schemes

Only in the last day or too I have been studying up on different colour schemes. One such colour scheme that is in the above image is called 'Analogous'. This wasn't intentional either when I did this background. So it was very interesting for me to discover that I am naturally doing this. Kinda cool I reckon.

Definition of a 'Analogous' colour scheme as follows; '..are colours that sit on the Colour Wheel and have a common hue'. Example for above image is the dinosaur (mr bluey) in which he has 1-3 contrasts of that blue hue.

Helpful link for colour schemes

I would thoroughly recommend to check out this artist (on Deviant art) and there helpful tips regarding colour schemes.

As a side note, I have really enjoyed pushing the character design further by way of a background. It just gives so much more context of story for the character. 

Take care and thanks for visiting. 

If you liked this post, you may also like the following;

• Comic character concept - Pandora  
• Comic character concept - Pandora 14 years old 
• Pandora comic - model turn-around sheets: Front and side profiles

Tools used

• CS3 photoshop and illustrator
• Wacom intuos 5
• Reference for visual style (Brittney Lee) 

Pandora comic - model turn-around sheets: Front and side profiles

I firstly have to acknowledge this fine artist Luis Escobar for his comments on the power of the turn around model sheet for character design. Check out page here for his take on it too.

The above character 'Panda' short for Pandora is one of the protagonist's for my comic I am slowly developing.  So I just knew that I would have to get a model sheet underway to help. As Luis has said on his web page, having a turnaround takes out the guess work for every time you are to draw a character. Already I have found this to be very efficient when drawing the character.

The 'rig' like skeleton I created has also helped to quickly nail proportions and poses. Artist Andrew Loomis in 'Figure drawing for all it's worth' which I highly recommend to check out used this technique of a mannequin understructure to set up a character.

And finally there is an awesome iPad app called 'Skelly' which you pay a few bucks for. It has a fantastic feature to set up a quick pose by articulating the major joints on a skeleton structure. Not only that but you can also pan, zoom and move the view around to nail some awesome shots for a potential character pose. Below is an example of one such shot. Think of the time that saves you...AWESOME!!! Also, yes there is more. Been able to see the bones in the app helps so much when trying to work out location for muscles. Get this app!!

As always thanks for visiting. Take care

Links as follows; 

Luis Escobar 

Andrew Loomis online 'Figure drawing for all it's worth' (This takes you to download of PDF)

Skelly 

Comic character concept - Pandora 14 years old

This has been a great exercise to develop the character further and to see her as a young teenager of 14. I do hope to put up soon a very basic 4-5 sentence #'logline' of the story. 
The basic idea for now is that Pandora (Panda) is able to enter into her dreams which happen to be 'of other worlds'. One of those worlds happens to be with dinosaurs. Kinda cool I reckon!!!
The one thing I have found to be great about this exercise is 'connecting' more with the character. There are certainly more questions than answers. But I find that I'm more excited to be trying to realize and pursue the character and the story they inhibit.

# Logline; Whaaaat? 
A logline is a one (or occasionally two) sentence description that boils the script down to its essential dramatic narrative in as succinct a manner as possible.
A tagline is a piece of marketing copy designed to go on posters to sell the film
- In space no one can hear you scream (Alien)
10 Tips for Writing loglines 

As always thanks for visiting. Take care

Tools used:

• Photoshop CS3
• Wacom Intuos 5

Comic character concept - Pandora

Super excited. Super nervous. This is my first of hopefully many more concepts for a comic story that I am slowly developing. The story is very much in 'development' stage as are the concepts above for one main character. More characters to come overtime.
The character's name above is 'Panda', short for Pandora. 
If I haven't already said, I am currently enrolled with Oatley Academy Live. The curriculum so far is developing a 'personal project'. My hope is that one day the content I produce will be completed for a web comic and a physical hard-copy comic book. Funded through Kickstarter or Patreon.
As always, thanks for visiting. And if you (yes, you) have ever wanted to find inspiration, clear and thought challenging direction for your art. Check out Oatley Academy Live. You will not regret it.
Take care