Draft Storyboard Sequence and story.

I created a quick storyboard sequence for critique from Frankie. This was just to get an idea of the main storyline and for any changes to happen before I create a final storyboard. A few panels need to be added to it to make a much more smooth flow of the story and for more humour to be added.

 

 

 

Story:

 

Tilly is about to go to sleep. She is tucked up in bed, holding a small white tooth in her hand, rolling it between her index finger and thumb.

 

Narrator:

 

Say Tilly what's that you go there?

 

Tilly holds out the tooth to the camera

 

Narrator:

 

Ah a tooth huh? Put it under your pillow and maybe the tooth fairy will pay you a visit!

 

Tilly smiles. The finger puppet of Mark catches her eye. He looks pained with a small red bump on his cheek.

 

Narrator:

 

Uh oh, look at Mark, he looks in pain. Let's go visit him and see what the problem is.

 

 

Tilly puts on the finger puppet of herself, closes her eyes tightly and is whisked down into the circus through a cloud of blue and glitter. She re-opens her eyes to find the gang standing around, smiling, whilst Mark caresses a large bump on the side of his mouth.

 

Narrator:

 

Mark? What's wrong? Have you got toothache?

 

Mark nods. The gang look up to see a small thought bubble appear from Mark's head. Along with the time (like a digital alarm clock) saying 7.00 AM and next to it Mark eating a sugary cereal. Another image below appears with 12.00PM and Mark feasting on sweeties and jam sandwiches. Next at 18.00, Mark gorging a large ice cream. The thought bubble pops.

 

Narrator:

Y'know Mark, a lot of sugary foods can be bad for your teeth!

 

Mark sulkily nods. Tilly walks over and shows the gap in her teeth.

 

Narrator:

That's right Tilly, you need to keep your teeth healthy so your big teeth can grow! Let's go see Lionel, he'll know what to do!

 

 

The gang wander to Lionel's office. Mark perches on a chair and Lionel takes a look inside. He pulls out a nasty looking green tooth. Lionel disposes of the tooth, making Mark feel much better.

 

(A small speech bubble appears by Tilly’s mouth with an illustration of a toothbrush and toothpaste)

 

Narrator:

That’s right Tilly, brushing your teeth everyday can help make your teeth big and strong. Sweeties and sugar can hurt your teeth. I guess Mark's learnt his lesson! Anyway it's time for bed, Tilly! Goodnight and Good-bye Gang!

 

 The gang wave at Tilly as she closes her eyes and whisks off back to bed.

Closing shot of Tilly, fast asleep in bed, finger puppet still on her finger. A small fairy flies in from the corner, reaches under her pillow and takes her tooth away.

 

The End.

 

Pitch. Before and After.

11/10/12.  - The Initial Pitch.
I pitched my idea to the group, explaining the story, characters biographies and personalities along with the style I am aiming for. I received critique from 3 of my tutors which I found extremely helpful, this included:

• Why was Tilly going to the circus?
• Is Tilly the main character?
• What is the relevance of the underground and the circus? Why are they major locations?

12/10/12.

I had tutorials with Andy, Kathy and Frankie. This helped me an incredible amount. Frankie influenced how the atmosphere makes everything in a small project, not only through characters, but narrative too. Kathy and I discussed about making a children's show not only suitable for young children, but also for parents and guardians watching too. It's also making it that little bit 'special' something that truly makes the animation or the narrative a little bit different from other television shows, having a 'spark' which made it different. Talking to Andy about my story meant I got a better idea of what children's television shows need to engage the viewer. At the same time, Andy reviewed my character designs and discussed posibly making this more for pre-school, yet still retaining the sillyness that I wanted to keep in. I began watching Cbeebies for inspiration and research, with shows including:

Tilly and Friends,

http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/tilly-and-friends

Woolly and Tig,
http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/woolly-and-tig

Pingu,

http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/pingu/



Get Well Soon,

http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/get-well-soon

Charlie and Lola,

http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/charlie-and-lola

64 Zoo Lane,

http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/64-zoo-lane




Taking inspiration from all these, (especially Pingu for the sillyness) I decided to change the story. It's still a work in progress, however I have the main narrative sorted.

New Story Synopsis:

Tilly is a young girl of the age of 5. She is obsessed with the circus. Her room is plastered with circus posters, wallpaper and toys. By her bedside table, she has a wooden circus set, which opens up (much like a Polly Pocket) with finger puppet animals to play with. She makes a finger puppet of herself, so she can join in with all the fun and pretend she is at the circus. One night before bed, she leaves the finger puppet of herself on. She falls asleep, but soon after wakes up from her slumber, only to find she's become part of the wooden circus! She is greeted by all the animals, who show her all the circus and let her have a go with their equipment, showing her how to juggle etc. She has a fantastic time, but Daniel, looking at the time, warns her it is time to go home. She falls asleep and wakes up  to find the finger puppet still on her finger and the playset as she left it.

The show is a series, in which each episode something new happens between the characters. Tilly is either the catalyst for things happening, or the one to help sort things out.

As the story is still in working progress, I haven't completly smoothed it all out, however I intend to get this sorted tonight.

Lionel Walk Test WIP

After having a tutorial with my tutor and discussing my ideas, it's been decided I need to influence my character's personalities and biographies. I thought I'd begin with Lionel, and decided to create a short walk test to illustrate his personality. I've decided to make him rather bouncy and happy. This is a simple walk just to illustrate how he would move. Work in Progress of Lionel's walk. Done in Adobe Flash.


.

Tilly Concept. The Underground Circus

This was a concept for the first idea of my story, in which Tilly is transported to the Underground Circus. Inspired by the A-ha video 'Take On Me', Tilly would be sucked from the monochrome world she currently lived in, to this 50's esque world filled with colour.

The Underground Circus. WIP Typography.

Using 1950's inspired typography, I created this WIP typography in Illustrator for the main logo and titles of my animation. Beforehand I drew a few ideas in my sketchbook to give me an idea of what to create.

 

 

RESEARCH/INSPIRATION

(no copyright infringement intended)

 

 

 

 

The Underground Circus. Concepts

Concept for Mark's Munching Molar;

The Underground Circus Story.

I have finalised the story for the piece I intend to create. Rather than starting from the beginning, I am going to jump straight in with my story and characters.

Mark's Munching Molar

 

 

 

The gang are celebrating a recent success with a show. Enjoying cakes, sweeties and other sugary foods. Mark becomes rather greedy and eats most of the food. As the gang continue through the day, Mark is seen drinking fizzy pop, indulging in chocolates and permitting himself to a rather large ice cream after dinner. As the gang prepares for bed, Mark passes them by as they brush their teeth. Martina and Ramone express to him the importance of dental hygiene, however, Mark's ignorance becomes his downfall. Mark experiences a long night of painful toothache. In the morning, when he wakes, a large green molar resides in the back of his mouth. He visits Lionel (who I have created not only as a performer but now as a practicioner in Dentistry and Medicine, having a Ph.D in Dentistry and Medical Sciences - University currently unknown) Lionel takes a look, in a comedic Chuck Jones style in which Lionel finds a spanner, lego and various other items in Mark's mouth. A live-action shot of going into Mark's mouth to find a rather angry looking green tooth at the back of his mouth. Lionel gently pulls this out. Mark from then on is careful of the food he consumes and looks after his teeth. The End. There will be no dialouge, however I intend to narrate it using a male 1950's-esque voice. A concept sketch of my idea;

The current work in progress;

Concepts & Background Ideas.

Working mostly on Concepts at the moment, both of characters and backgrounds, establishing the style I wish to achieve.

After Crit from a tutor, I have decided to make my work much more detail, adding small bits of detail to make the backgrounds more interesting to look at. So far I am pleased with the characters, I am going to focus more of colour schemes and detail using various brushes/pens both digitally and traditionally.

3rd year project!

Start of the the third year, my project is based on my second year project 'The Underground Circus'. All of the characters have undergone a redesign, as have the backgrounds. I've begun incorporating a slight Mary Blair style of design to my work.

I've also been working on another project, providing concept art based on the Norse Mythology of Loki's children, Hel, Fenrir and Jörmungandr. This is them as children;