The 3D Figure in Motion

To get a feel for how my character, Dalan, moves, I began experimenting with run cycles. The first thing I did was a lot of research into various run cycles for different characters, as well as observing how people of different body types, stamina, and personalities run in real life. Some of the references I found are really interesting and well done. Here are a few I found that helped me out a lot:

Run Cycle for Kiandra, by Animative@deviantart.com

 

Run Cycle for taller characters with more fluid motion, from http://nightmarefuelart.wordpress.com/2012/10/09/entertainment-design-run-cycle/

Stick figure run cycle that only shows the main flow of movement, no details,
though I can't remember where I found this

Movements of the Two Legged Figure, by Preston Blair,
from http://www.darlingdimples.com/?page_id=79

a general chart of changes in motion

 

Below is the basic run cycle I came up with for Dalan Raymer, the Shadow Phantom in my series, DA Shadow phantom. He is the type of character to dash straight into battle or danger without much thought on the matter. That, coupled with his slightly smaller body type, led me to explore a slightly more chaotic run style for him. He's fast, outstripping most opponents with ease, and impulsive.

Basic Run Cycle for Dalan (art by me)

I started with the concept, i.e., the stick figures. These provided the initial idea for the run cycle, the flow of motion. After that, with each consecutive step, more and more details are added. Also, I test these as an actual animation. Photoshop has an Animation feature (under the Window tab) where you can set each image/layer as a separate frame. You can place these frames and time them whenever they are supposed to come up, one after the other. If you want them to flash quickly, have each image/layer stay be visible for one frame only. To slow it down, either add more images as in-betweens, or have each one stay visible for two or three frames. It's a handy feature. That way, you can test the movement of the animation and perfect it a bit before importing it into an animation program such as Flash or After Effects.

I also found references for four legged creatures running, as well as flight cycles of birds and bats. This could be very useful, considering what my main character changes into, as a shapeshifter.

by rillani@deviantart.com

The process I've been going through to create a run cycle has been a lot of fun. For one, it has reminded me of a very important concept in character design: when drawing characters, even in a two dimensional medium, always treat them as if they are three dimensional. That will make doing different angles of them easier and more believable. Even in a basic run cycle, it isn't just the legs and arms that are moving. People's bodies naturally twist and turn while running or doing anything, for that matter. So it would make sense to visualize characters as being three dimensional to begin with.

As always, everything I learn about art, animation, and storytelling is always a journey, never really about some final end destination. There are various things to accomplish along the way and levels to reach, but I'm afraid that if I finally did get to the top of some great height with nothing else to go for, I wouldn't know what to do or where to go. I need to keep learning.

So, to all the people out there who, like me, thrive on learning of some sort and the experiences that go with it,

Happy Traveling!

A chibby of me done by a friend of mine

The Music Behind the Scenes

I have found out that Celtic music is very commonly used for and associated with fantasy movies and shows. I guess it's because of the mood and feeling much of the music gives off, like a perfect fantasy world is actually real and, not only that, is a very reachable community that the audience can join right in with. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy and The Hobbit have a lot of Celtic style music in the soundtracks. That is part of what gives the mystical, magical effect of the story.

From The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring

 

Recently, I've been listening to a lot of Irish music done by modern bands. One song I love in particular is called "Nil Se'n La" by Celtic woman. Part of the song is in the old Irish language, and the rest is in English. It starts off with part of a folk song:

Chuaigh mé isteach i dteach aréir
Is d'iarr mé cairde ar mhnaoi an leanna
Is é dúirt sí liom “Ní bhfaighidh tú deor
Buail an bóthar is gabh abhaile.”

Roughly translated, this verse means:

I went into a (public) house last night
and I asked the barwoman for credit
She said to me "You won't get a drop
Hit the road and go home."





The setting of this song is in a bar or ale house on a cold winter's night. After making his case to the bartender (the woman in the intro) that he will be staying because he is the main source of entertainment, the speaker of the song then instigates the festivities. The song is about an all night party that no one ever wants to leave because of how lively and inviting the environment is. The night is magical, with instruments playing and a golden fire as drinks abound, never seeming to run out.


Celtic Woman Album art
The chorus goes:

Níl sé ina lá, níl a ghrá,
níl sé ina lá is ní bheidh go maidin,
níl sé ina lá is ní bheidh go fóill,
solas ard atá sa ghealaigh.

Translated:

It's not yet day, it's not my love,
it's not yet day and it won't be 'till morning,
it's not yet day and it won't be yet,
A high light is in the moon.

And while the listeners are never told if this party is actually real or all a wistful fantasy in the speaker's mind, the tone and voice of the music brings them into the scene so completely that they are somewhat sad when the song ends at last and the last note of this bright magical world in the middle of winter drifts away.

From the Lord of the Rings, Pippin and Merry eating.

Music really does have a much bigger on the tone and even the theme of a movie than people seem to think. Even if you don't normally notice the music, you would certainly notice if there was no music at all or if it had a happy tone when a certain scene was supposed to be sad. The carefully created mood would be ruined. When I was in high school, one of my teachers proved this to my class. He played a scene on a big projector screen that was supposed to be suspenseful and even a bit scary, such as a villain playing a cat and mouse game with either the hero or someone close to the hero in a dark setting. Instead of playing it with the normal suspense music, however, my teacher had a very cheerful carnival-type song on.

The effect that combination had on my classmates and I varied. Some of us just couldn't take the scene seriously anymore. It just wasn't scary. To other people, the cheerful music with this setting just made the scene ironically creepy. Either way, the mood of the entire scene was warped a great deal. And it was all because of the music being played in the background, the aspect of a movie that many people don't even notice. That is why theme songs for television shows are so important, even if you do skip them half the time. For one, the theme song is supposed to portray the overall attitude and tone for the show, as a whole. It could be a comedy, or dark drama. The theme song should suggest what elements might go into it.

Even while I'm writing or drawing, I often listen to the type of music that corresponds with the mood I want for a particular mood or theme. This helps to put me in the right mood instantly and also can give me inspiration from time to time. When I first started writing DA Shadow Phantom, a song that I have considered to be the theme song for this story is called "The Bird and the Worm" by the Used.

 

The song starts:

He wears his heart
safety pinned to his backpack
His backpack is all that he knows
Shot down by strangers
whose glances can cripple
the heart and devour the soul

Then it moves on to the chorus:

All alone he turns to stone
while holding his breath half to death

Terrified of whats inside
to save his life he crawls
like a worm from a bird
crawls like a worm from a bird

 

 Beast Within, artwork by me, inspired by the image above this one

A big theme in DA Shadow Phantom is Dalan struggling with his inner beast. Should he resist it? Shun it give into it? Or should he try to understand its nature and work with it, allow it to truly become part of him? Whatever he chooses, this process is lonely and scary, even painful at times. Having even a single ally, like Dalan's friend Heather Dennison, is a huge relief, though it does not remove the burden, not by a long shot.

The song above portrays the overall mood and attitude I was picturing for this story. Maybe if I get around to creating more images for this story, maybe even an animation, I will play with setting them to music like this.

Stories are all about a journey, either internal or physical. The main characters grow and develop, their motives often driving the plot of the entire story. This process enables the readers/viewers to get into the story more and even root for the main character(s). Music is also a journey. It incites the listeners' emotions a certain way so that they feel like they are on a journey as well.

So how do movies make people cry, or fill them with excitement, euphoria, or even rage? Some images can be quite compelling, true, and sometimes famous movie lines can get stuck in your head for days, but one aspect that most people forget about is music. According to a Scientific American article, "Why Does Music Make us Feel?", "speech sounds don’t give us the chills, and they don’t make us cry [....] But music does emanate from our alarm clocks in the morning, and fill our cars, and give us chills, and make us cry." It is a big part of the lives of many people worldwide (http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=why-does-music-make-us-fe).

In a recent study covered by a recent paper by Nidhya Logeswaran and Joydeep Bhattacharya from the University of London, 30 participants were given pictures of human faces and were told to rate them from 1 to 7 in terms of emotion, with 1 being extremely sad and 7 being extremely happy. The researchers found that, if music was playing, it actually influenced the ratings. Sad music made the frowns seem that much more melancholy, while lively, happy music made the happy faces seem all the more ecstatic. One explanation the article gives "is that the emotions of music are 'cross-modal,' and can easily spread from sensory system to another." Since images and colors are also powerful in getting a response from people, putting these together with music the correct way into the plot of a story can have an even more powerful and even magical effect, pulling the audience more fully into the world of the story, as more of their senses are engaged and even interacting with the story.

Try noticing the way music and images/colors are used together the next time you watch a movie or anime, and you'll see what I mean.

Happy travels!

Dalan's aging process, from 5 to about 20

If anyone has any questions or comments, or if you just want to start a discussion with me, leave a comment after this blog. To see the fantasy kindle books I have on Amazon, visit these links:

1.) North Country, Book One: The Riders of Redrog
2.) DA Shadow Phantom, Volume 1: Transformation

Feel free to stop by and browse, and maybe leave a review.

 

For more artwork and story-related stuff, or if you just want to get in touch with me and see what I'm up to, visit me at these websites:

 

Facebook profile

 Facebook DA Shadow Phantom

Facebook North Country Series

 

Deviant Art profile

 

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The Art of Taboo

My dad has a 1960’s version of Romeo and Juliet that he wants to show his high school English class when they read the ever famous Shakespearean play. It’s a British film though, and the funny thing about British films, even in the 1960’s, is how not shy they are about nudity. While American actors of that era and before could hardly even be shown sleeping in the same bed, British producers did not even try to strategically hide anything. You might see a nude guy mostly from behind, but everything is showing, and the girl is not shy about flashing her breasts for the camera.

The acting is superb. You would almost never think it was a film done in the ‘60’s. The actors dive into their roles completely, making the old Shakespeare text come to life so completely that you can’t help but enjoy it, even if you’re not into reading Shakespeare-style language (which, by the way, is not Old English, but actually Late Middle English). Anyway, because of one questionable scene with flashing breasts and buttocks, my dad hasn’t been able to get the film approved. So I got to open it in my film editing program and make it kosher for American high school students. That was fun, getting flashed a few times while trying to figure out exactly where to cut it, all the while trying to keep all the of the dialogue and background music consistent enough so that it’s not obvious a scene, or a few bits of a scene, have been cut.

Romeo and Juliet, a Paramount picture and Bhe Film,

Franco Zeffirelli’s production of William Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet”

Anyway, my progress with editing this film for my dad made me think about something I’d learned about in art school, a method that drives me nuts if it isn’t used properly in movies, television shows, and even comedy routines. It is called The Art of Taboo. If you look at the definition of the word taboo, that word explains a lot what this method in filmmaking and storytelling might entail.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, a taboo is "a social or religious custom prohibiting or forbidding discussion of a particular practice or forbidding association with a particular person, place, or thing." As an adjective or verb, taboo is something "prohibited or restricted by social custom," or something that is "place[d] under prohibition." The word came into the English language in the late 18th century, "from Tongan tabu 'set apart, forbidden'; introduced into English by Captain Cook." (http://oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/taboo?q=taboo)

 

Basically, the Art of Taboo is the ability to hint at certain topics, which may or may not be touchy with a lot of people, without actually explicitly mentioning them or showing them. This may seem like an old-fashioned cop-out, but if this method is used artfully and tastefully, some of those awkward situation and/or topics suddenly become ten times funnier. Once someone actually comes out and says it, the joke is dead, the mood brutally killed. If actors on stage or even comedians just started blurting certain things out all over the place, not only is it not really funny, but the show cannot be taken seriously, especially if the audience begins to feel perverted just by continuing to watch. In this way, using the Art of Taboo in strategic places, i.e. leaning more towards the morality of issues, doesn’t have to be boring or spoil the fun at all. Stories can have those funny moments, but then they can get serious again as well, as both the characters and the audience can move along on their journey.
 

Posted in "5 hour epic" on YouTube by The Prime Ares

 

Think of it like having an invisible window between your audience and the taboo. You can look, but don't touch. The question is knowing where that line - or window pane - is, knowing what to leave in and what to cut out or simply allude to. If too much is cut out, then you, as the storyteller, will come across to the audience as being too timid. If that happens, you will have dragged your audience out of the story forcefully in the direction opposite what the lack of the Art of Taboo would do. Dragging your audience out of the story for any reason is bad because you may lose them altogether.

One example of the use of the Art of Taboo can be seen in many movies and television shows PG 13 or lower that involve romance. For instance, take Smallville. It is a highly passionate show with passionate characters. Yet, even when you have scenes when various characters are lip-locked, or even when they are in bed together, notice that only enough of the scene is actually shown to give the viewers the idea of what is going on, or what is about to happen. That little hint is all the viewers need. After that, people’s imaginations can run as wild as they want to, as they have been given plenty of material to work with.

Ollie and Lois, a screenshot from Smallville, Season 6

 

 Posted in "5 hour epic" on YouTube by The Prime Ares

 

Having a middling to low rating for movies and television shows, instead of aiming for a really high rating just because you don’t want to be restricted in what you show, actually attracts more viewers that include many different types of people. Just because people are adults that don’t have movie restrictions that apply to them anymore doesn’t mean that everyone wants to watch rated R movies. But if the ratings are kept more in check, more people find that they can enjoy the story, and they still get the gist of the more touchy and violent scenes without being shown everything. By using the art of taboo, some of these scenes can become a mystical or mysterious experience for the viewers and/or readers.

 

 As a writer myself, I find myself struggling sometimes to find the proper balance. Part of that balance is knowing who your audience is. Even though I want a broad range of people to read my series, DA Shadow Phantom, I am aiming it primarily at teenagers. Sometimes the hardest challenge is working with other people on a single project, getting them all to work towards the same goal. Everyone has different preferences and ideas. Even working with one other person can be a challenge, as I am collaborating on this series with a close friend of mine. We both are going on our own journeys with this project, just as our characters are.

When you have two people working on the same story with wildly different ideas of how scenes should go, knowing where that fine line is as far as The Art of Taboo goes can be quite tricky. Especially if you have some characters that are highly passionate by nature. As the main editor as well as a writer of DA Shadow Phantom, I’m constantly trying to figure out how much to leave to give the readers accurate information about the characters, let take out enough so that a wider range of readers can enjoy the story. Despite the different ideas my friend and I have, our journeys still have to coincide enough to make the experience of reading the story a magical cohesive flow instead of a bunch of jumbled ideas. That way, the readers don't get ripped viciously out of the euphoric flow of the story; they won't have to miss out on the special moments, even if some of them are merely hinted at, like some exotic dream seen from a distance.

 

Happy travels!

 

 Posted in "5 hour epic" on YouTube by The Prime Ares

 

 

 

 

If anyone has any questions or comments, or if you just want to start a discussion with me, leave a comment after this blog.

To see the fantasy kindle books I have on Amazon, visit these links:

1.) North Country, Book One: The Riders of Redrog
2.) DA Shadow Phantom, Volume 1: Transformation

Feel free to stop by and browse, and maybe leave a review.

 

For more artwork and story-related stuff, or if you just want to get in touch with me and see what I'm up to, visit me at these websites:

 

Facebook profile

Facebook DA Shadow Phantom

Facebook North Country Series

Deviant Art profile

Tumblr profile

 

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Flickr profile

We just had my brother's wedding, so everything has been crazy around my house. That's why I didn't get a blog out last week--sorry guys.

Not only have there been a lot of people around, so I've been going crazy, but since I'm the resident artist, I've been commissioned to do the wedding cake topper. My brother and his fiancé wanted a custom one that matched them better than the ones advertised. So what I ended up doing was a rather spunky one with my brother's fiancé, who is much shorter than he is, holding him up as they try to kiss in that position. Using a simple anime-ish style, I think I pulled it off quite well, besides the fact that my brother's hand fell off and I had to super glue it back on. Oops ^_^

This project was fun, but I'm glad it's over with now.

The happy couple (art by me) - cake topper made of super sculpey and acrylic paint

They're off on their honeymoon now, so maybe I'll finally get a little peace. This weekend was still fun though, as exhausted as I am.

Anyway, besides all the craziness of the wedding, I am at a shifting point in my story, DA Shadow Phantom. It's a place where the plot could take any turn or twist. There could be a major turning point, where the characters' motives shift tracks. It's certainly an interesting place to be, though sometimes frustrating.

Part of what goes into the plot is the character development. Currently, my main character, Dalan, is going through a lot of changes. He's torn between being the Shadow Phantom, protecting the innocent from those that would hurt and exploit them, and just being a normal teenager. For quite a long time, he's been flip-flopping back and forth. Now he's faced with shutting out one identity completely to embrace the other. At the same time, he's also learning about his roots, why he is the way he is, and what his destiny might be.

One song that has been inspiring me recently to that effect is "My Immortal," by Evanescence. I first heard the song in season three or four of Smallville, in the episode where Clark has his first memories of his birth parents. It is a really touching but sad scene, so I thought the song matched it pretty well.

"My Immortal" by Evanescence, a wallpaper

from http://www.layoutsparks.com/pictures/my-immortal-1-t5-0



Jor-El and Lara-El, Clark Kent's biological parents

The reason this song has inspired me is because it reminded me of a perfect, beautiful past that couldn't last or was too good to be true being drudged up. The person is forced to relive this, all the while knowing this life can never be, yet is wishing for it anyway.

Dalan is doing the same thing by wishing away his destiny. He's trying to look back to a time that at was more normal for him, though a time that may never have existed at all. Dalan has always had to watch from the sidelines while everyone else was just being normal. Later on, for a time, he even tries to forget his own identity to be normal himself.

The other central characters are struggling with their own demons. Heather and Matt, Dalan's closest friends, are having trouble with their friend's role as well. Neither of them are sure where they fit into the picture at all, as Dalan's destiny seems too great and alien for them. Heather isn't completely sure of her feelings regarding Dalan either, just as he's unsure of his. It seems the more complicated the plot gets, the more characters seem to grow. I am amazed at how much Dalan's character has grown and changed since I did his first character sketches, both in art and as a character bio when I was first getting the idea for this story. I still have a long way to go.

Anyway, I haven't yet done full character sketch pages for my character yet, as I've been off and on designing them, but I've gathered ideas from various artists who's character design pages and artwork have inspired me in the process of creating my own character pages. Once I have some done, I'll post them so that everyone can finally see what I've been up to.



+Contest design 5 out of 10- Seki+ by goku-no-baka@deviantart.com



By the way, in the image above, I love the expression in the middle :3

This design includes the character from various angles and even with a few expressions that define his personality, and all the viewers have seen so far is a brief glimpse. That speaks to me as artwork that is very well done; it's alluring and accomplishes its task well.

+Expression Meme - Astir+ by goku-no-baka@deviantart.com

Astir from Beast Hunt

An expression sheet is also useful to do for a character. If the character is an original character (OC), the artist may want to go on to do a comic or graphic novel, or even have it animated. Having references of things you've already figured out is very handy and keeps the character's reactions to various situations consistent.

Also, sometimes it's just fun to play around with styles and characters, whether they are styles and characters that already exist or not. I know I've drawn my share of anime characters in order to get a style I like with the characters for my own stories. I tend to make use of whatever interests and inspires me.

The bottom line: whatever you do, have fun with your journey through art. Art and storytelling are about the journey, not some end result. It's great to be able t o sit back and admire your own work. Trust me, I've been there. But once you hit some grand end-of-the-line destination, what then? Where do you go from there? What have you gained from the experience? If it's a journey, there's always more to explore and learn.

Happy travels!

 

Eat the Fish! by sharpie91@deviantart.com

If anyone has any questions or comments, or if you just want to start a discussion with me, leave a comment after this blog.


To see the fantasy kindle books I have on Amazon, visit these links:

1.) North Country, Book One: The Riders of Redrog
2.) DA Shadow Phantom, Volume 1: Transformation

Feel free to stop by and browse, and maybe leave a review.

For more artwork and story-related stuff, or if you just want to get in touch with me and see what I'm up to, visit me at these websites:

Facebook profile

Facebook DA Shadow Phantom

Facebook North Country Series

Deviant Art profile

Tumblr profile

 

Twitter profile

 

Flickr profile