Film - First SCENE!!!!!!!!!!

Background Painting

Scene 1, sky background:

After Effects Studies

I have been collecting plugins for after effects, and also watercolor brushes for Photoshop, and studying a lot how to make the best use of the such for the film. The film will be a mix of 2D and 3D and a lot will be done in compositing. Below are a few studies i made, and cool results. I was also watching the film Mulan, and i got quite interested in their introduction, therefore i have decided to try out if i could reproduce it. Here are the results of such studies:

Texture Test

We have downloaded watercolor shaders... and some of them look pretty cool as an option we could go for... Here are some option for the Angel-star, the Main character of the film... I have given Charlie the model, so that he can pass on to Danny and Dan to try out some more options for him. It was decided that we don't need to use what we don't like, therefore we would pick the best one... Here is what I played around with him... and also the Male Character, using Toon shader.

Narration

We have decided that narration will be essential in the film... Maybe a very old male voice... wise... or a very young and naive voice.. we need to try out and see how it goes...
Here is the first draft I wrote, that need to be improved a lot... I know it can get much much better....


"There was a time when the Universe was still very young… and an important star was formed… a star that can be seen and honoured by all living things.
(Title sequence)
The Sun and the Moon were often together and from their Union, they gave the Universe a Gift. A Being that would unfold the most well-know history… the one of creation!
For some… it was destiny, it was already written. For others it was scientifically explained as a combination of small particles of dust…. Neither changes anything…
By waking up to this world the star calmly starts to change its color and form, while a blue light start to emanate from within, so to transform it self in liquid… water floating in the emptiness of the space. Flying through it and diving in and out the water, fishes start to swim in a dance of magic.
Raising arms upwards the star join the hands and bring it closely to the eyes. The light emanates from it, spinning and reflecting in the water. Slowly the star opens the hands… and we see a man, a human being. Creation and creator exchange one look… before it gently drops him in the water.
The man enjoyed the water shortly before tiring out… it was never its perfect habitat. So land is created… and trees and flowers start to grow everywhere.
The man is happy being on firm ground and is fascinated with the flying living creatures of this realm.
A big light comes from the beach, and when it dissipates the man falls in love with what he sees. A female. The female was concealed in this world, for every single creature that now inhabit the space.
After this glorious time the creatures start to multiply faster and overpopulate the world.
The Star flies to the Father Sun and the Mother Moon and tell them what happened…
They know what must be done and start to spin around this world, creating the day and the night. And now the creatures start to get older… When it come to the right time, they become a star and go back to the sky, the place they originally came from.
This is the story of a star that shines the most in the sky… the start that is always looking towards us; the only star that will always be found at the same place. Travellers, looking up at Her, can always find their way. Because this Star is in the true north all the time, The Star is now called, the North Star."

"A lua é nossa Mãe, O Sol é nosso Pai
E Nós somos as Estrelas, só nos resta agradecer"
(quote from Francisco Corrente)

translation:
"The Moon is our Mother, The Sun is our Father
And We Are the Stars, we can only be thankful."

Tree 3D Growing

I have modeled the tree and tested if it could grow in maya easily, and.. yes... it is possible!
Dan Elvins was supposed to make it but he was having difficulties with Blend Shapes. I have also tried out watercolor shader and toon outline. I will give it back to Dan E. as he is one of my textures. Below is a Playblast of the tree growing animation:

Lotus Flower animation

Just finished the animation of the Lotus Flower growing... We were going to do it 3D... but it would be too much effort as we wont have a close up in the flower, and is not something really important in the film. Then was decided that would be easier to animate it 2D. Here it is:
(It would definitely be much better if it was slow, but for the film it might be even faster)