Final Animation.

Untitled from alexandria Fleetwood on Vimeo.

Here I have captured the scenes of my animation at key moments

This image was taken when the whole setting was finished, I used a lamp to shine light onto it to create atmosphere. The flowers and leaves used are real which I picked from the garden. The 'unfinished', 'handcrafted', quirky look was what I set out to create and I think I have achieved this.

Here is the deer character, I just used acrylic paints for his face and will do the same for his body.

This will be the main backdrop, I wanted to create a bright, happy sky. I am going to then paint a few trees on top as its a wood setting.

These are a few extra cuttings which will be added to the background, along with a cut out green hedge.

The making process...

All the characters will be made from card as it is sturdy and easy to cut and paint on. Below is the first process of the doll.

I decided to go over the features on pen to stand out and make it easier when cutting. I also places the piece of fabric for the top to see what it looked like- I think i'll stick to that one, however, I am going to sew on a few stitches around the edge to give it that 'hand crafted look'.

I initially thought that blonde hair would work best however, I feel she looks a bit too innocent and not very original as most dolls have blonde hair so I thought using a bold colour such as black would look better. 

After much thought, I finally came up with an idea for a character. With basing my ideas around the subject of dolls, I made sure it had doll characteristics, such as big green eyes, small pert lips and rosey cheeks. I wanted the doll to have an innocent look with those typical doll features however, I still wanted her to have a quirky appearance with a bold colour and hairstyle and cheeks which are made to be sewn on. I have decided that I am going to paint the features on the head but then use fabric for the clothes which will make her look more interesting and come to life. I am going to use paper fasteners to attach the head and arms- this will be useful when filming for more moving actions and it will give the character more personality.- I will have to also create a few different set of eyes looking in different directions and maybe a different mouth which I can stick on during filming to express more emotion.

Here are a few samples of fabrics to choose for the clothes. I want her top to be quite girly and pretty but simple. She is going to have a long skirt but I want the skirt to look slightly tatty so she doesn't look to 'perfect'. 

Here is the cat design. I wanted to flow with the theme of big eyes. Painting him black makes him more mysterious. I have tried to make him look cute but then have a slight sinister look about him which makes you wonder whether to trust him at first in the animation. I will use paper fasteners for the head and the tail.

The deer is a minor character; the cat brings the girl to him. Unlike the other characters, this one does not move around the scene, however, his antlers and head will move. 

Designing Characters

When designing the doll character, I know I will have to keep in mind my three words and make sure she will fit in. I want to stick to bright, happy colours- particularly in the backdrop. She will have big green eyes, rosey cheeks, small pert lips and freckles. Designing her clothes and hairstyle might take a bit more experimenting.

The second character will be the cat; again, he will have large eyes and I was thinking of painting him black- which is more mysterious when the girl follows him through the woods.

I have developed the doll character- here I have added messy, curly hair and stitches- looking like a worn -out, tatty doll.

Again, just experimenting more with the hairstyles. Both the images have been painted, however, with the one on the right, I have also added textured bits of paper.