Aquatic Elements Begin

This week marks the start of my work on all the underwater elements of the film. On deck is a kelp forest. 

Environments

Below are a few environment renders, set elements, and a shape language guide. I still have a few more environments to get though, but I'm starting to really nail down the look and feel of the film.

The coral reef will be my most fabrication heavy environment. This set is also the bit of fabrication that I am looking forward to most. I'm going to begin sculpting the bones out of foam this week.

This environment will be the first layer explored by the puppet. I'm debating if I want to animate the branches as stop motion elements or in After Effects using the puppet tool. I think I'll do a few tests to figure out which aesthetic fits the film best. Furthermore, this render helped me to identify my influences for surface textures. Mary Blair is my primary influence. 

Assets to help me define my render style. I'm going for painterly, but graphic in silhouette.

I'm still playing with my shape language—finding that fine line between graphic and geometric. Primary influence: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2. 

Runner Diaries: Research Trip to Tropicorium

One of my instructors turned me onto a place called Tropicorium in Romulus to do some research. They breed coral there and really know their stuff. I spoke with the owner—he absolutely loves what he does and is overflowing with information on salt water creatures. I learned a lot from that trip. 

I took the video below to study the way that UV light interacts with various corals and creatures. The video isn't great, but it gets the job done. I can also look back on how the sea life moves with the current, which will be helpful later on when I'm ready to animate. 

Tropicorium

20080 Inkster Rd, Romulus, MI 48174
(734) 782-2622

Lion Fish

I think I found a tank! Bad news... it's at least 200 lbs.  

Japanese Dragon Moral Eel 

Early Ideation

This sketch is the first visual representation for this film. 

After a series of fantastic and vivid dreams, I started keeping a sketchbook next to my bed to help me better remember these ideas. It paid off! While interning in LA, I had a dream about a goddess that separates the earth and sinks slowly to the bottom of the ocean where she encounters a series of interesting creatures.  

Early goddess sketches: