Originally on my shortlist for the Type & Motion project, I felt that this piece would better suit character animation - which is the plan. 3D animation with entirely CG, sparse environments, thick with nightmarish atmosphere, a post-apocalyptic world where everyone has literally just vanished - leaving the small child completely alone - deserted streets, empty cafés, graveyards that stretch as far as the eye can see - entirely B+W or heavily desaturated, almost to the point of no colour. In essence, a fairly unabstracted illustration of the central character's morbid journey into the tragic unknown (whilst drawing on the long established conventions of children's stories in book form, animation and film).
CHARACTER DESIGN
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My first thoughts on character are to create an unequivocally tragic and sympathetic small boy - clothed in some kind of fancy dress... I think this comes from a character in the Harmony Korine film Gummo, who ghosts unscathed, through the extremely brutal Ohio town of the films setting. He has an untouchable, ethereal, serene manner, an absolute contradiction to every other exaggerated, violent, inpulsive inhabitant.
Another reference from the darker recesses is the famous children's book (my personal favourite as a little boy) Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak, about the imaginary adventures of a young boy named Max, who is punished for "making mischief" by being sent to his room without supper. Max wears a distinctive wolf suit during his adventures and encounters various mythical creatures, the wild things.
Bearing these influences in mind I wanted to dress the little boy in a costume that somehow reflected his circumstances and environment, playing up the tragedy, but still retaining a sense of innocence and playfulness...
I was just in a charity shop on Clapham High Street and in a bargain bin by the counter was a child's halloween costume - a skeleton suit! Perfect - macabre but silly, innocent and playful!
SKETCH BOOK
STORYBOARDING
After transcribing the audio I began plotting the visuals, in particular looking illustrating the most potent descriptive words (usually at the end of a line) and the on-screen timing.
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ROUGH AESTHETICS TEST
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