Clean Ups

Here is the cleaned up version of the octopus' opening scene. I still have a few things to adjust with the animation, and I am considering doing a cleaned up version of the background. I have also included a clean up of the seagull.

First Scene Test

I decided the best scene to start out with would be the introduction of the main character. In this scene, the camera pans down to show the octopus observing a pair of crabs in love (I have yet to include these in my tests). He then swims over the rock, taking one last glance at the crabs, and swims  off in to the distance. I began by sketching out a rough plan of my animation, and then plotting the necessary key frames, followed by the breakdowns and  inbetweens.

Animation Tests

I created a simple swim cycle in order to iron out any problems with the basic anatomy of the octopus character. The main problem I found with this animation was the placement of the legs in conjunction with the octopus' head; the legs seem to come out of the back of his head and also not to join at a specific point. In order to create a similar sideways cycle I will need to tilt the head more upwards and have the legs join at a lower point on the body. I also think the shape of the head is too awkward for ease of replication and turn arounds etc. so I will be sticking with a basic circle in the design from now on.

Here is the rough animation test of the seagull from the opening of my animation. I used video and photo referencing to create a simplified take off with some minor exaggeration.

Initial Animatic

This is the animatic I made using my first storyboards. I have since made some changes to the style, but much of the storyline remains the same.

Environment Design

In my initial environment designs I worked with a more complex style. However, as my characters are very simple in design, I felt that the animation might not mix too well with the backgrounds. In my later designs, I tried to unify a combination of simple yet varied shapes to keep the environments both complementary and interesting.

In the below design, I experimented with a paper cut out style feel to the piece. I feel it captures the combination of simple yet visually interesting that I was hoping to achieve, whilst also adding a sense of childlike naivety. However, I believe the first colour choice is too bold and clashing, and also fails to create the sense of being underwater. In the second image, I used a blue overlay in an attempt to help with this. I feel the second image also does a better job of creating the sorrowful mood of the octopus, and allows him to contrast well against the background.

Character Design - Anemone

The most important aspect of designing the anemone was to make sure she had the appearance of an octopus whilst also looking like a sea anemone. I tried several different designs before deciding that the best approach would be to adapt the octopus design to create the character. I added frills to resemble a skirt, and a heart shape pattern to promote her femininity. Proportionately, she is about half the size of the octopus, both to show an extra difference between the species and also to give her an air of vulnerability. Her relatively small size would also allow for the octopus to feasibly be able to carry her to safety. 

Character Design - Octopus

I experimented with a variety of different designs for the octopus, ranging from more realistically detailed to simplistic and cartoony. Whilst appeal was one of the strongest influences of my design, the practicality of animating the characters with dynamism and flair was my paramount concern. I quickly discerned that a design with all eight legs visible at once would be too impractical to animate, and equally the designs with stubby legs would not move well enough to be appealing. The octopus would be required to pick up objects, which meant that his legs must contain a certain amount of flexibility. His ability to squash and stretch would also add another dynamic to his character, and would allow for a variance in movement important for captivating the audience. 

The variation below is the one I decided to take forward in to the final design stage. The circular shape of his head would be simple to reproduce, whilst also containing a soft and rounded feel to his character. I particularly liked the idea of his legs looking as if they were standing up, as it gives him a more humanized element, whilst still clearly representing an octopus. 

In the below version I have stream lined the octopus further in to having more exact shapes and anatomy.  I have also reduced the number of legs to four due to practical reasons concerning the animation. I experimented with different poses in order to test the various moods the character will have to perform.