Character Design - Production bible

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  1. Alan PostingsFriday, 1 February 2019 at 11:55:00 GMT

    Tia Whitehead -

    Over the course of the project it has been good to see your three characters develop and I think your characters are well defined, with a good sense of colour. However I feel the expression sheets are a little underwhelming, particularly with the sheriff and Centi-pete. Using different angles like you have done with the hero, creates more animated expressions than static heads. With a lack pop gesture sheets, the characters roles within the narrative feel unclear. And I would look back to your early explorations of the centipede, particularly regarding the line weight. To get a sense of the scale of the villain, and therefore the inherent menace, the line weight needs to be equal in strength to the smaller characters.

    Although I think you have developed some interesting exterior buildings and props, the storyboards and animation layout do not do these justice. Your bar room environment feels uninspiring and rather basic. Looking at real world examples, this would be a great opportunity to add props, and to reinforce your wild west/bug theme, such as a bar made from driftwood or a discarded human object etc. The window and door could also reveal the street outside to tie this together with your exterior designs. Your storyboard feels lacklustre and pedestrian at the moment. Westerns have strongly defined camera angles and tropes, so exploring and utilising these would help define the narrative and setting. For example, having the looming centipede enter the bar in silhouette, casting a large shadow into the bar, cutting between the sheriff drinking, the worried young hero, a scared piano playing bug. Tilting the camera angle as the sheriff tries to stand before toppling. An upshot of the menacing a laughing villain, cutting to a down shot of the hero, picking up the sheriffs badge and gun to defend the other bugs behind him.

    So in conclusion, you have created some interesting and appealing characters, but they lack narrative and personality. I would strongly consider redeveloping the weaker elements of your character bible in order to better showcase your character design skills. - Justin

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