Woke Up Dead

[Ilidrake]

Good points Rodney. I've been going over the script but I tend to concentrate on character growth and dialogue so it's nice to get these points.

 

Out of Time: I would agree that some events like Cleo arriving at the Raven so soon. Perhaps it would be best if Cleo's little vision scene shows Death and Latimer's meeting on the road way before they arrive in the city? This would give her plenty of time to arrive at about the same time?

 

I also like the idea of playing with the deeper dialogue. Much better than ripping them out. Not everyone will get it but the ones that do should appreciate.

 

Me and you are both envisioning the Raven in the same light. Exact dimensions and layout are still under development but the lighting scheme works for me.

 

I really want to see the pan shot. I've given some thought to what the city will look like and how it will be laid out. There is a look I want to accomplish but am unsure of how to accomplish at this point.

 

On a side not I began Edgar's head today. It's not exactly where I want it at this point so I will not be posting images until I get it closer to what I want. I was thinking about skin tones today when I was painting his texture maps. Flesh tones will work but I was leaning more towards a gray to bluish tone on the fact that they are all dead. This would include Latimer. Or perhaps a more white to gray tone would work better. I will experiment and post examples as i work through it.

 

I'm setting up to do a scratch track of the script at this point. I think it's getting closer to what I envisioned at this point. Your suggestions have been an immense help! So I'll be working on dialogue tracks and mix them later inside After Effects. Which is where I'll probably do the Animatic once I get to a point where I can start that beast.

[Rodney]

The megapanzoom shot isn't much to look at in this stage of the idea but it's a stab in the direction of having some fun while telling the story.

 

My thought is that the path that the raven takes could be very similar to the path our heroes take during their great escape just in reverse (and maybe during a different time of day. This would help cut down on the amount of modeling.

 

This thumbail represents two solid head-on perspective shots (The beginning at The Raven and the End at the balcony of the Castle.

You can't really make out the bridge that the raven flies under and I didn't spend much time doodling the castle because zoomin up to it would likely be a forced perspective shot. The buildings and such between are just notional... had to put something in there.

 

What is perhaps most interesting about this setup is that it is designed to cover the camera's POV from the time Death and Latimer pull up to The Raven until Cleopatra turns, leaves the balcony and walks into her throne room. Of course this doesn't have to be all done in one setup probably at least three hero sets (The Raven, the City and Cleo's Castle).

 

The flow follows your script:

 

Death and Latimer arrive at The Raven

Death and carriage moves off screen left while Latimore heads to enter The Raven (screen right)

Before he can enter The Raven he runs into Nora who is entering screen right

Oops, Sorry... Hey wait! Drat. Latimer considers following Nora but goes back to his original mission and enters The Raven.

Camear pans up to the sign.

Raven is seen on sign watching Latimore.

After a few seconds (Log enough to have seen Latimore enter) the raven flies off.

Raven flies over the roofs of several small houses and down unoccupied streets.

Flies under pipes.

Flies through some structures (briefly) disappearing and reappearing from sight.

Raven passes several intersections, houses and such that clue us in to what the city might be like (hints a much bigger city we know is there but will never visit).

Flies toward and then under bridge (possibly to avoid some pedestrian traffic that is going over the top.

Arches upward climbing through houses near the base of the castle.

Locks in on figure in the distance at the top of the castle.

As we zoom in to see Cleopatra for the first time on the balcony.

The raven lands while the camera continues to drift up and reach appropriate height.

Cleopatra 'communicates' with the Raven and then quickly leaves balcony and walks down the hallway.

End of MegaPanZoom

Cut to Cleopatra entering Throneroom.

 

I don't know. What do you think?

Would something like that work?

 

While it wouldn't be as much fun, it certainly would be easier to just cut at the Raven flying off and then cut back in with it appearing at the balcony.

[Ilidrake]

The good thing about my job is the time off. The bad is when it gets clkose to me going back to work my sleep becomes pretty sparse. So I stay awake modeling, drawing, and researching.

 

It would be easier, but it sure wouldn't be any fun. I've been thinking about this set a lot the last couple of days. The scale of it will be immense, too big for me to model every detail. The first glimpse we get of it will be when Latimer first arrives and Gravedigger points it out. This of course will simply be a siloutte type shot with most of the detail going to the castle. The Raven flight would certainly allow us to present the entire city in a condensed controlled way. Show the audience small parts and then there own imaginations could feel in the gaps. So that's a definite yes! I won't update the script with it but I will be taking your flight path drawing so it can be refined when this shot comes up.

 

As for me I have been doing a little editing of the script. I also purchased Storyboard Pro for my storyboarding and animatic

 

And for your eyes I present Edgar Allan Poe!!!! Please be gentle. I'm not entirely sure about textures at this point so a little feedback on that is appreciated. The moustache(think I spelled that right)is the most difficult aspect to capture. His hair is really good IMO. I spent quite a bit of time making sure I got it the way I pictured it in my head.

[Rodney]

Great start to Edgar! I like.

 

Have you given much thought to what the base of his neck might consist of? As it remains a mystery why he's missing his body in the first place I won't speculate too much here but perhaps his head could be placed on/in various things as a joke* (which Edgar does not find amusing) such as a plate, a book, a cup, etc (Note: Death wouldn't do this but the patrons of the Raven might). Since no one seems to know why his body is missing perhaps Edgar doesn't know either which just adds to the never-ending list of frustrations for him. "Add that to the list please." I figure it's just part of the so-called mystery behind his real death.

 

I'm rendering a test of that color thumbnail right now from A:M where I have the camera tracking the path. It's not very pretty but it might help to understand what the most difficult areas of that sequence will be. I don't think it'll even be worth uploading.

 

I also purchased Storyboard Pro for my storyboarding and animatic

 

If I didn't know any better I'd say you were taking this stuff seriously.

 

 

*Note that I'm not saying I like this idea. It's just something that came to mind as I was pondering your image and how the neck could terminate.

The only real suggestion I have of your current Edgar is that I think his neck could be shortened considerably.

[Ilidrake]

In the new script I sent you he actually explains what happened to his body, in the middle of Act 2. I was rather reluctant to have him explain it but in the context of his dialogue it seemed....appropriate. It is basically a symbol of how much he loves his wife. I look forward to seeing your render.

 

Yep. I'm taking this serious. i'm working out a production schedule right now to gauge each step and give myself a little more direction.

[Darkwing]

The good thing about my job is the time off. The bad is when it gets clkose to me going back to work my sleep becomes pretty sparse. So I stay awake modeling, drawing, and researching.

 

It would be easier, but it sure wouldn't be any fun. I've been thinking about this set a lot the last couple of days. The scale of it will be immense, too big for me to model every detail. The first glimpse we get of it will be when Latimer first arrives and Gravedigger points it out. This of course will simply be a siloutte type shot with most of the detail going to the castle. The Raven flight would certainly allow us to present the entire city in a condensed controlled way. Show the audience small parts and then there own imaginations could feel in the gaps. So that's a definite yes! I won't update the script with it but I will be taking your flight path drawing so it can be refined when this shot comes up.

 

As for me I have been doing a little editing of the script. I also purchased Storyboard Pro for my storyboarding and animatic

 

And for your eyes I present Edgar Allan Poe!!!! Please be gentle. I'm not entirely sure about textures at this point so a little feedback on that is appreciated. The moustache(think I spelled that right)is the most difficult aspect to capture. His hair is really good IMO. I spent quite a bit of time making sure I got it the way I pictured it in my head.

 

I approve of this model!

 

And you coulda gone CeltX, it's free and very efficient but to each their own.

[Rodney]

And you coulda gone CeltX, it's free and very efficient but to each their own.

 

Have you ever tried to draw an image in Celtx???

 

Celtx is a lot of things but as a storyboard tool you'd be better off with paper and pencil.

[Ilidrake]

I've tried CeltX and all I can say is you get what you pay for. Storyboard Pro is pretty dang amazing. You can draw directly in it. Import pics. Template pics. You can import a script into your project for each scene your doing. Camera controls....the list goes on....

[Darkwing]

And you coulda gone CeltX, it's free and very efficient but to each their own.

 

Have you ever tried to draw an image in Celtx???

 

Celtx is a lot of things but as a storyboard tool you'd be better off with paper and pencil.

 

 

No I've not, never had a reason to try. As you said, paper and pencil does the trick very nicely, or any old annotator.

 

I've tried CeltX and all I can say is you get what you pay for. Storyboard Pro is pretty dang amazing. You can draw directly in it. Import pics. Template pics. You can import a script into your project for each scene your doing. Camera controls....the list goes on....

 

Unnecessary bells and whistles in my opinion (and as Rodney said) where you can use paper and pencil just as if not more effectively. But as I said before, to each their own, what works well for one person doesn't necessarily work for another. Variation keeps life interesting

[Ilidrake]

Darkwing thanks for the feedback. You raise some very good points. I have actually put a lot of thought into Latimer's parents but it's very difficult to write. I'll continue to tweak the script with your suggestions and see where it goes.

[Ilidrake]

I went ahead and tweaked on Cleo. I finished up around the eyes so she has eyelids now. I also spent the time to work with her hair and get it styled the way I wanted. The over-all look is better I think. Still not too sure about the texture at this point but it'll stay as a placeholder for now. And if I can't come up with something else it'll be done

[Ilidrake]

Quick question! Is this is a good render or not? Does anything seem odd about this? Please post your thoughts.

[NancyGormezano]

Quick question! Is this is a good render or not? Does anything seem odd about this? Please post your thoughts.

 

I like the render style very much.

 

One thing "odd" that I see is the white outlining of the grass in foreground (but does not bother me). I'm guessing that would be due to alpha channels. There are ways to get rid of it/minimize, if one wanted to, but requires fiddling. Off the top of my head, I think? I might know where to start, but I remember there being a post on this forum at one time, as to the best way to get rid of it.

 

Not sure if I think the realistic sky/clouds is best choice either, might prefer more stylized clouds.

 

Other thing odd, but perhaps is intentional (depends on story) is the window appears to glow, and looks inconsistent with time of day, and gives illusion of looking thru the house, and that house is a 2D cardboard popup.

[Ilidrake]

Alrighty. Thanks Nancy. Now how about this one?

[Rodney]

I want to hear Nancy's commentary on the house so I'll defer to her feedback on that.

I'll just say, I'm liking the direction of this latest house and move on to some trivial workflow and details.

 

I assume you may be creating some of the drawings (i.e. the grass) in a different program that A:M.

While you can certainly do that, I want to encourage you to create as much as you can directly in A:M. If you do you'll reap the rewards of reusage later.

 

For instance, if creating the grass (via hair or simple geometry repeated over and over again) rendering out to PNG, TGA or EXR will give you nice crisp outlines in your Alpha Channels automatically. While the ultimate benefit is that once you have that created in A:M you can leverage them over and over and over again the real flexibility comes with being able to blur/adjust/recolor those elements later. When creating the assets in other programs they are a little more likely to be used for specifically targeted instances only (i.e. for decals).

 

Of course I'm saying this without having a clue as to how you approached creating the grass in your earlier image.

[Rodney]

Alright, I lied. I couldn't resist tossing in my two cents into this scene.

These mainly concern composition, scaling, focus and detail.

 

My thought is that due to the size of the house in your image Latimer's father might have owned it since before he became successful in his business. Right now it seems to be too abstract to me (the window not to scale, the house not big enough, etc.) As such I figure the father might have built onto the house here and there, added a room, added a pantry, added little 'useful' things everywhere. The outhouse (off screen left and slightly downwind and downhill) hasn't been utilized since he added the water closet to the house eight years ago at his wife's insistence.

 

I suppose the whole point to these doodles is to suggest that with a little geometry you should be able to suggest a lot of detail that really isn't there. Whatever you choose as the focus of the scene (we can assume the window here) it won't hurt to radiate lines out from that location and then place a few strategic objects to help guide the viewers attention there.

 

Note that in what is represented in the attached image is general in nature. You've already got a lot of this going on in your scene. For instance, you've already got elements directing attention to the window where Latimer is seated. I've included that part for the sake of completeness.

 

What could be added?

Something out there where a mailbox might be (I don't think they had mailboxes back then so perhaps a gated fence, shrubs, rocks or a pathway.

[Ilidrake]

Nice. I had thought about doing some details like that but wasn't sure about the feel. I have also been considering doing the entire World of the Living in balck and white. But these are only thoughts and these renders are only experiemnts. I do like the look of the house as you have it. I thought the window too large as well but just didn't feel like shrinking it. This of course proves that my render is successful though Without giving any story or input, simply a picture, you were able to fill in the space yourself. Thanks for the feedback. I just wished a few more people on the forms would give me there opinions.

[Darkwing]

My two main concerns of the living being black and white and the dead being colour, is that the audience is immediately going to jump to the conclusion that this is potentially a Wizard of Oz ripoff (which it isn't.) This is going to lead them to having certain expectations of where the plot will be going and might actually lend to people not seeing it for what it is and spend more time comparing it to Oz than anything. Secondly, if you go black and white for the living, you're going to really have to flesh out the metamessages you're sending about dead vs alive, basically what Rodney said earlier about perhaps sending the message that the living is a horrible place and that death is where the party's at. This obviously means really refining the plot so that it's almost blatantly obvious to the audience that this isn't the message.

 

Some alternatives might be to actually base the colour scheme on whatever mood Latimer or the plot is in at the time. So perhaps initially, it's not black and white, but the saturation is down. When he arrives dead, there's a bit more colour due to the newness of it all. But as the plot darkens and things get "worse" the colour scheme darkens, potentially to the point of being monochromatic. But once everything is resolved (mind you, I haven't gotten to the end of the script yet) and things are good and everyone's learned what lessons they need, then it's in full colour. That's just some ideas, naturally it's your choice as to what kind of artistic direction you wish it to go, but this seems like a good opportunity to play with some things that don't always get played with

[Ilidrake]

Thanks for the feedback Darkwing. Rodney, I was thinking about adding a fence or something to the foreground but I didn't really like the way it looked. I have the basic camera positions and such planned out already I'm just unsure about what to put in the scenes. I don't want to clutter the screen with so much that it detracts from what I want viewers to see. By keeping just the black shape of the house with the window highlighted your attention is immediatly drawn to it. After that you look at the rest of the scene. And Latimer's outline will be in the window moving so given enough frames people should pick up what's going on in the scene almost immediatly. I will be adding some small details to the house but will keep them low key as to not detract.

[NancyGormezano]

Alrighty. Thanks Nancy. Now how about this one?

 

I like it. I am reluctant to critique one still, without seeing it in the context of the animation. Different criteria would be used.

 

So...looking at this as only a still...I find the silhouette of the house more interesting, but more confusing - not sure what that rectangular lump on the roof is. But I like the scale of all the elements together and I like the composition. I find it more interesting, with higher impact than previous image.

[Ilidrake]

Okay been plugging along on assets for the first Act. I also started on the mother's body (pic below). I'm still not too sure about the Cleo model. As I read the scipt back to myself I get the impression that she is not young. I get the impression she is old and spiteful, and extremely conceited. For some reason this brings to my mind and old, skinny woman who doesn't realize that her glory days are over.

 

Edit: Here's a side by side of Latimer and his mother. The mother is 100% modeled. She still needs to be rigged. I'll be moving on to the father and once these three are finished I'll be able to begin Act 1 officially. Still haven't started on the Death, Frankenstein, or Nora models yet. I will also be doing another Cleopatra model so perhaps I can get her closer to what I envision.

[Rodney]

I'm still not too sure about the Cleo model. As I read the scipt back to myself I get the impression that she is not young. I get the impression she is old and spiteful, and extremely conceited. For some reason this brings to my mind and old, skinny woman who doesn't realize that her glory days are over.

 

While you have a lot of room to maneuver I think your instinct is serving you well in this case. A lot depends of the contrast you want to play up between Cleo/Franky/Nora. If you design/refine them in tandem with each other you'll be able to obtain the optimal looks. I would even throw Latimer's mother into this mix to make sure her design also complements them.

 

Suggestion: Draw/render each of the character in black silhouette only. Each one should be completely recognizable and distinct by their shapes/silhouettes/profiles.

 

 

The age and height of Latimer in this last render is certainly readjusting my understanding of who the character is. I pictured him as younger and shorter. No wonder he feels overly constrained by his Mother and Father! Age is especially important because of how maturity of a character effects personality. I appreciate how your image suggests that aspect.

[Ilidrake]

I was going to make him younger and shorter but it didn't lend to Latimer's personality or problems. He has come of age and is at that pivot in his life where he is ready to make his own way in life. Only his parents aren't ready for that and they either don't believe or refuse to believe he is ready. On top of that his mother has dictated every aspect of his life so he is naturally reluctant.

[Rodney]

I was going to make him younger and shorter but it didn't lend to Latimer's personality or problems. He has come of age and is at that pivot in his life where he is ready to make his own way in life. Only his parents aren't ready for that and they either don't believe or refuse to believe he is ready. On top of that his mother has dictated every aspect of his life so he is naturally reluctant.

 

The idea of older and taller is easily sinking in. It just forces me to adjust my previous view on things.

A few for instances:

 

- I was picturing Death as tall and skinny (besides the robe thing).

There are several scene where Death is looking down at Latimer and Latimer is looking up at him. Unless Death is even taller than I originally imagined certainly changes things. I suppose you could opt for a really short Death and go the opposite direction. That'd lead to some very interesting storytelling possibilities just as drives home the point that Latimer raises and that everyone in the audience is thinking, (to Death) "I always imagined you being... different." To which Death reponds, "I get that a lot."

 

Works for me.

 

I'm not suggesting that Death should be tiny but it's an idea worth exploring. The main reason for liking that angle being that it brings Death and Edgar physically closer together in each scene and the contrast at the end where Death assumes his 'proper' form would stand in nice contrast to his earlier stature. Not only that but in short order everyone would want their own cute little cuddly Death doll to carry around with them. Gotta track that merchandising!

 

At any rate, It'll be fun to see Latimer, Death, Edgar and Franky all in the same scene.

For what it's worth I originally saw Death and Franky as being about the same height and both towering over Latimer.

I still assume that they will be bigger.

 

For discussion sake, I do have general concerns with making Latimer older/taller and those relate to audience rapport and empathy. A lot of this depends on how seriously you want the movie to play and we are finding out more about that aspect as we see your designs appear. The (stereotypical) general rule of thumb is; the older the main character(s) the more serious the underlying themes of the movie will be. The classic examples of this in recent animation are 'Treasure Planet' and 'Titan A.E.' which were seen as movies for older kids but marketed to kids. This caused considerable confusion at the box office. I had originally assumed you were going for all ages but raising Latimer's age suggests the film will not be as appealing to pre-teens. In many movies this is where the sidekick, familiar or Jiminy cricket type character gets thrown in to keep the movie from becoming or remaining too serious.

 

Love the side by side comparisons. They always get the personality traits flowing.

[Ilidrake]

I think one of Latimer's personality traits is that he will never really stand up straight. He always shrinks down to make himself less noticable. This of course will change the farther in tue story we progress and the more his confidence grows.

[Ilidrake]

Okay I'm still working on this. I'm currently at work so I only get about 3 free hours a day to play. So I'm focusing on sets and props as these are easy to do. Here's the latest render I have of the exterior of the house. I really considered adding details but it just doesn't fit the look I want.

[robcat2075]

Okay I'm still working on this. I'm currently at work so I only get about 3 free hours a day to play. So I'm focusing on sets and props as these are easy to do. Here's the latest render I have of the exterior of the house. I really considered adding details but it just doesn't fit the look I want.

 

I like that. I like houses with spooky attic windows.

[Rodney]

Here's the latest render I have of the exterior of the house. I really considered adding details but it just doesn't fit the look I want.

 

 

When it's your movie, the only vision you must remain true to is yours.

 

For what it's worth, in looking at this glowing window I find myself immediately thinking of a (potentially) stylistic echo in the latter part of the movie with the glowing eyes of a certain creature.

 

I like this sense of scale a lot better.

[Ilidrake]

Still plugging away on the sets. I have the first of three finished. Moving on to props and hopefully shots later in the month. Latimer, his mother, and his father models will remain the same. I have a co-worker who is one extremely talented artist. After discussing my film with him he has agreed to do some concept work for me. Basically he is going to draw up the remaining cast for me. Talk about taking a load off of me. The best part is we work together so we can constantly be updating our progress throughout the day. So the next models you see will be complete originals from Lee Kilpatrick...aka Butters.

[Ilidrake]

So here are three characters. Latimer with mom and dad. i'm still not too sure about the father model as I was thinking of a more stern sort of character. But then I figured I would go with this and see how it works with the person doing the voice as I suppose that will really dictate the personality.

 

EDIT: Here is a shot of Latimer at the dinner table. The set is finished as well as the furniture props. Used the default lighting for now as I'm just getting a feel for the size of all the props and the texture scheme. So far things are looking good I would say. Still working on the characters to get them rigged proper as well as touching up and fixing various texture issues they have. My hitch is almost over and i'll be plugging away on the animatic of the script as well as beginning the dialogue recording.

[Zaryin]

I'm really loving the character styles. Nice one!

[Ilidrake]

So here is Nora's head so far. What do you guys think?

 

EDIT: So here is the modified head with new angles...

[robcat2075]

So here is Nora's head so far. What do you guys think?

 

can you show a few more angles?

[Ilidrake]

Im working right now but when i get off today im going to tweak the head a bit and take more shots from diffrent angles.

[Ilidrake]

Plugging away still. Here is the crude beginnings of Frankenstein. As you can see this is a very rough concept of what he will look like but I am liking where this is going.

[Rodney]

Looking good!

 

Glad to see you are still making good progress on this.

All of your characters look like they belong in the same world... a very good thing IMO.

 

Looking forward to the next updates!

[Rodney]

Interesting...

 

I see Michael Sporn has a kickstarter going for an animated film about... Edgar Allan Poe.

 

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1706789719/poe-project

(As of this writing they've achieved just over $5K of their $21,500 goal)

 

Keep this project on the fast track because if the patterns hold there will be a lot more being released related to good ol' Edgar.

[Ilidrake]

Just in case anyone is interested this project is still underway. I recently had a very close friend of mine die so I've been kind of in the dumps. But I'm still plugging away at it.

[Ilidrake]

Well I'm still working on this thing. I have scrapped all original models of Nora and Cleo and have been working on sketches to come up with something better and more appealing. I have also decided to start work on some of the more interesting characters. After laying out my schedule for this project it would be silly to begin set designs without a clear look at the characters involved, so I will let the cast dictate final set design later. For now I I will simply be working on cast members and getting them finished up.

 

On a side note here are the wings for Death. Rodney, i'm sure you of all people understand when these will come into play. More to come later.

[agep]

The wings are beautiful! Did you use coockie cut decals or hair?

[Ilidrake]

Neither. Each featuer is a flat plane shaped. Then i loaded up photoshop and painted some texture.

[Ilidrake]

Okay, so I'm kinda stumped as to my Death character. He's a major cast member in the script. Now based on the models you have all seen here so far what style should I shoot for? Should he have a head and a face or should he wear a hood that blacks out his features completely? I'm really needing some input from the community. Here is a pic of a cowl I modeled today that I was thinking about basing his clothing off of but I'm still not sure the actual final look. should he be skinny and tall, or short? Come on Hashers!!!!! What say ye!!!!!!

[Ilidrake]

Well here's what I have for Death so far. I'm pretty pleased so far but there is another style I am going to try before calling him finished. Please note that the hands are not in place because I have not made them yet.

[Rodney]

Sorry I've been out of commission of late.

 

I'm not sure this'll be of any use but for what it is worth...

 

When I first read your script there were a lot of things that captured my attention and imagination. Many were those that were little details or turns of phrases that suggested depth of character and interpersonal relationships. One of those that stuck in my mind was the initial meeting of Latimer and Death and in particular the exchange they had "I always pictured you as being different" opposite "Yeah, I get that a lot" or something to that effect.

 

To really make that exchange have depth it almost begs for Death to appear different than how we would normally imagine him (i.e. skull and black cloak) although I confess that is exactly as I pictured him. While I don't think you need to design him as a short Jewish man that looks like a guy on a street corner it might be worth considering a few stages of Death so that the audience can connect with him. Of course the final look could be exactly what the average person might expect... that of a skull and black cloak).

 

Based on the dialogue alone we can work backward and learn more about what Death looks like. Perhaps he even looks different to everyone who views him but predominantly appears (to us) only as Latimer would see him if'n he was real? The thought is that if Latimer says, "I always pictured you as being different" and Death confirms that... how exactly did Latimer picture him before? What were the influences that impressed that imagery upon him?

 

At the risk of killing the fun of creativity this might be where reference and inference have their space.

Of what religious affiliation are Latimer's parents? Catholic? Armenian? What are their general views on death?

Perhaps they have a large library of books and Latimer once picked out one that had an illustration that formulated an image that stuck with him?

While never stated explicitly, all this background is what really forms Latimer's early expectations of what Death 'should' look like and that provides the contrast/conflict in appearances.

 

Another aspect of this could very well be how Death himself wants to appear... and (to me) that really seems key to his appearance.

To my way of thinking this is what really grants depth to the story arc of Death that allows us to empathize with him.

I won't add any more here because of spoiler potential but it seems to me that when Death first meets Latimer he looks the way he does because that is exactly the way he wants to appear to him. Of course that would make the design challenge for Death more complicated but after all as character arcs go... while designing Death... Death is the most important character.

 

If going for the skull and cloak look you might have to consider changing Lamiter's dialogue to "Wow, you look just like I always imagined you" to which Death still responds (but perhaps a bit more cynically... or sadly), "Yeah, I get that a lot."

[Ilidrake]

Good points rodney. I've been giving Death a lot of attention and ive decided to try several diffrent looks to see what will work the best. Ill post them once they are all done. Im just gonna let his personality dictate the final look

[Ilidrake]

While rigging Latimer I decided I really did not like the hands. They just didn't fit the style of the character nor are they working as far as rigging was concerned. So I remodeled them and here is the model with the new hands. I decided to go with the three finger 1 thumb look and i really like it.

[robcat2075]

He's lookin' real good. I like three fingers too.

[Ilidrake]

So just a small update. Latimer's body is rigged. I've been lucky so far with the mesh because it's required only small amounts of smartskin and fanbones. Here's a pic of him in a simple pose I did real quick. I'm going to rig the face next and then he should be pretty much 100%....not including phenomes.

[Ilidrake]

Latimer, the main character, is rigged and ready to animate. I'll be doing some experiemntal animations to work out any kinks to the rig. As for progress I have been reworking Nora and have the basic head finally modeled out the way I want it. Please note that this is simply the basic head for her at this point. I'll be completing her shortly now that I am home from work. Stay tuned...

[robcat2075]

On a side note here are the wings for Death.

 

Good-looking wings!