Master Of Animation, Games & Interactivity
Master Of Animation, Games & Interactivity

This week I started to work on some character sketches (both ‘dog’ and their trainer) based on the ideas generated from my mindmap. This is a trial to see if I could visualise my ideas and see if the result still appears interesting for my final animation. 

Through character illustrations, I’ve tried to work out the personalities (of dog and trainer), unique behaviours (e.g. radioactive dog likes to stay in waste barrels) and scale of the ‘dog’ (human aside as reference). With these set information, I now have a basis to work with for storyboard planning. Additionally, by determining the designs of the creatures (and character), I can focus all of my mind on just storyboarding instead of juggling both at the same time, which may proof chaotic and decrease the quality of my storyboarding. 

My work has been heavily influenced by trainer-pokemon illustrations from Pokemon. Despite owning more than one pokemon, most are only displayed with one that matches the personality of the trainer. For example, Ash is always shown with Pikachu as both are outgoing and bright as characters. I want there to be a similar relationship between my ‘dogs’ with their trainers, they should compliment each other rather than a master-slave connection.

Several iterations were made through the sketching of these ‘dogs’ and these changes were made to make the creatures appear more fitting to their setting. For example, the head of the radioactive dog originally resembled that of a dobermann. This was turned into a looser and irregular shape so it appears more fitting to the ‘deformed’ background of the creature. Some designs also strayed from the original appearance mentioned in the mindmap. An example of this is the new outlook for the sea ‘dog’. The godzilla appearance was cooler but it strayed too far from the shape of a ‘dog’. It definitely didn’t look like a dog, so whilst some features (fish scales, flippers) were preserved, the general conscience of the design shifted to this more appropriate look.

About This Work

By Yi Wu (Amy)
Email Yi Wu (Amy)
Published On: 14/05/2021