December 2021

Exploring background design

By Weronika Zgoralska Posted on 5th December 2021 Posted in Designing No Comments

For my walking animation, I wanted to play more with the background design, as I have some interest in it and can see myself taking it more seriously. I knew I wanted to have a bakery or a sweet shop, which is where the mood of the walk changes as the shop is closed.

I started out with a moodboard of different storefronts.

And then I got to work!

It’s a simple straight-on background with a one-point perspective. It’s not a finalised design, but I am relatively happy with the first pass on it. I didn’t want to over-crowd it and I tried to keep the threes – big, medium, small – rule in my mind. I will possibly add some more detail to the pavement, now that I’m looking at it. I’ve also moved the plants to the side, so that they weren’t the centre of attention, and there was more focus on the bakery.

I also got some feedback from a friend, and when cleaning it up, I will try to keep in mind line weight and try to vary it by structure. Also, the canopy might have too much detail in perspective, so I would be looking to simplify that.

Drawing Movements: Creator Talk with Atsushi WADA and Sarina NIHEI

By Weronika Zgoralska Posted on 4th December 2021 Posted in Watching No Comments

Today I’ve attended a webinar from The Japan Foundation about Atsushi Wada and Sarina Nihei’s work. Below are their works, the notes I took during the webinar and some of my thoughts.

Gentle Motions: Atsushi Wada’s Short Animation

My Exercise – Gameplay (Atsushi Wada)

Small People with Hats | Future Shorts (Sarina Nihei)

It was quite interesting to see the work of Japanese animators, who are inspired by the work of artists from other countries. It’s not the typical style of animation that a lot of people think of when they hear ‘Japanese animation’ (at least I don’t). It’s unique to them, and hearing Wada and Nihei talking about their work was super inspiring. I absolutely love the soft but limited colour palettes they use.

They both talked about how they don’t really write scripts, and they tend to start their animations by thinking about a pleasant movement that they want to animate, then work out the rest of the film around the scene. This was rather relieving, because that’s how I tend to work too, and for the longest time I thought that was just ‘wrong’. Nihei also tends to write a lot of ideas down, before working on the storyboards, so there’s a lot of scribbles in her sketchbooks.

I really enjoy these soft, comfortable movements in their work, and it’s something I would definitely like to consider in my future work. I’d also like to be a bit looser in my ideas ‘plot-wise’.

Character Design: Luana (DnD)

By Weronika Zgoralska Posted on 3rd December 2021 Posted in Designing No Comments

Although not part of the project, I wanted to share how I approached the design of one of my Dungeons and Dragons characters.
I first started by creating a moodboard. I wanted an overall feel, a vibe, not necessarily something to strictly follow, but something that could inspire me and keep me on track.

Afterwards, I worked on the silhouette and design, using white, grey and black as I tried to consider the values at the same time. I tried to keep in mind how practical the outfit would be, while still staying true to the character.

I really liked the ‘heavy on the bottom silhouette and tried to push it further by layering different pieces. I’ve decided the shorter dress / skirt was more practical, as she was to be a fighter, and of course, I don’t want her tripping on the edge of the fabric.

I’ve actually taken some videos of myself (long deleted, spare me the embarrassment) to figure out the pose and proportions. The final design reminds me a little of SheRa design.