How to Boost Your Animation Background: The Shipwreck
When it comes to building the perfect layout or background for animation, there are a few tips that can boost your scene from good to great. Vis Dev Artist Hannah Powell explains how she made her shipwreck scene, including:
Hi! My name is Hannah Powell and I'm a freelance visual development artist currently residing in London. I graduated from Bournemouth University in computer animation a few years ago and have worked on all sorts of projects since. I’ve always been surrounded by art. My youngest memories include hours in the National Gallery, which still my favorite place. I’d heard great things about Background and Layout for Animation taught by Jonathan Hoekstra and CGMA, so I knew this was the perfect opportunity to push myself more.
1. Shipwreck Assets
When choosing a scene, Jonathan provided a bunch of examples to choose from. I chose a shipwreck theme for this project. There was plenty of inspiration to be found in all the examples, but I thought designing boats would be fun.
I was inspired by the art of Armand Serrano and Paul Felix, especially for their work on Surf's Up and Lilo and Stitch, respectively. I wanted to make the theme a bit edgy and had a bunch of fun drawing skeletons.
The class explored various techniques in this week including Wedging, Plant spheres, Leaf creation, Boxes, Barrels and other props of this nature.
While I’ve created assets before, this week really pushed me to exaggerate shapes. This alone made a big difference! I did a lot of research into the type of lamps out there and the materials used to create these props.
Enroll in Dynamic Sketching 1 and Dynamic Sketching 2 to up your asset sketching skills.
2. Framing the Scene
The main focus of this week was composition and how to make an image as easily readable as possible. The main objective is to draw the eye of the viewer to a singular focal point with directional lines and by using foreground and background elements as a framing device. The first thumbnail ended up being the one I took forward because I liked how the tent provided a good focal point and accompanying props added a sense of depth and intrigue- it told more of a story.
Changing the angle of the ground to sweep towards the focal point provided a direction for the eye to follow and made the image easier to read. Even the larger leaves in the foreground point towards the tent. I exaggerated the lighting to make it spotlight on the tent- this had the benefit of making both the lightest and the darkest areas of the painting sit right next to each other, which adds some nice contrast and also draws the eye in.
Check out Environment Sketching for Production taught by Patrick Raines.
3. Depth and Details
Rendering out the image to a high level of detail proved to be an interesting challenge. Small problems that hadn't already been resolved in the thumbnailing process had to be ironed out- like making sure the boat didn't hit the top left corner, and how much detail to put into the backdrop. There were a few elements that ended up causing some trouble further down the line- I’d decided that the large number of leaves in the foreground should be drawn individually in high detail. I think I could have gotten around this by choosing a style that simplified this. It would have saved time but also kept the image less busy.
As a result I feel that the eye is potentially drawn down towards the leaves instead of the focal point- I know for next time! I used what I had learnt in week 2 in the boat design- little details like notches and holes in the wood make a big difference, but still wasn't quite there yet- fortunately I was given some excellent feedback on how to get this drawing to the next level for week 6…
Explore Environment Concept Design taught by Simeon Schaffner and Jonathan Guzi.
4. Final Render
I was pleasantly surprised by the final outcome- following advice I was given about flipping the image and really going ham on the details made a big difference. I hadn't had much experience drawing with ‘stage lighting’ (I’d usually lean towards realistic) and I’m so glad that I was encouraged to do so with this- It's something I wish I’d learnt a lot earlier.
I’d like to go back and clean up some edges in this picture when I have time, though. My favorite element in the whole piece is the white rabbit that Jonathan suggested I add sitting in the tent- a subtle Monty Python reference that explains all the bones scattered in the foreground ;)
Final Thoughts
- A few friends had already taken several other courses from CGMA and commended both the teachers and projects. The projects they created ended up in their portfolios and were the reason behind a few starting careers! Background and Layout in particular came highly recommended by one friend in particular as “unmissable”.
- The feedback was amazing! I cannot emphasize how thorough Jonathan was with his teaching, he was full of insider knowledge (and some very entertaining anecdotes about the animation industry). He was also honest, direct and in depth with his feedback. He answered every question and made sure that everyone was keeping up.
- The most impact thing I learned during this course was that the difference between compositions for animation and illustration is vast- I struggled in the first week to grasp this when I was making thumbnails- but after some thorough explanations I feel much more confident in my composition abilities. The other important thing I personally took away from this course was some very in depth knowledge about what goes into a good visual development portfolio. Jonathan provided some really great visual aids for this.
- I would recommend this course to anyone with an interest in background and layout but also anyone building a portfolio or looking to up their portfolio game. The opportunity to have direct feedback from a professional on a weekly basis is an unmissable opportunity- I couldn't believe how much I learnt in such a short amount of time.
LEARN MORE
CGMA provides comprehensive instruction for Art, Games, and VFX industries in a variety of courses for a range of students, from 2D and 3D artists looking to supplement their college studies to industry professionals looking to stay up to date on emerging trends and techniques in the field.
RELATED LINKS
Don't miss out on Background and Layout for Animation taught by Jonathan Hoekstra.
Enroll in Dynamic Sketching 1 and Dynamic Sketching 2 to up your asset sketching skills.
Check out Environment Sketching for Production taught by Patrick Raines.
Explore Environment Concept Design taught by Simeon Schaffner and Jonathan Guzi.
