Success ...

All scenes are now completed, fleshed, timed and edited. Now it is time for the inking process, or colouring in as it is known. I shall be removing all black outlines, replacing them with a darker outline of the block colour.

Issues ...

I have encountered a rather large issue that is proving to be some bother. The scene where the character is charging at the screen with his gun is not as easy as I originally thought. I had not taken into account the background. At first I had it static, which did not work. Then I tweened the background to rise up as the character ran forward, this also did not work as the horizon should not move. I have now decided on just moving the wall into the distance to create the vanishing point, and allowing the character more movement.

Done?

I have successfully completed the film by drawing everything ala stick man drawings. I will now be going back and fleshing them out, scene by scene. Yay!

Left right left

I have begun research into military uniforms, deciding on a green (US-style) dress uniform and an olive (WW2-esque) uniform for the action scenes. I like the design, but also wanted to reinforce the paradox between the two worlds, this is an imagination and is not meant to have perfect details.

Behind every great man ...

OK, so backgrounds can be a pain. I have been trying to create a moving background through drag and drop, but it doesn’t seem right. I am now trying out a motion-tween instead that is proving much more successful. I shall be using this for all the moving backgrounds.

Next .. !

The inspiration/trigger point of my tale ... it's finally taking shape!

Riding the bus

Facial animation ... anyone want to hazard a guess?

It's the little things ...

Thank you for the comments on the last upload. Here are some ammendments, hopefully for the better.

Keep those comments coming!

Scooby-Doo Time!

Inspired by those rolling backgrounds (as seen on kiddie cartoons), here is a walk cycle test that I have never attempted before.

The character will eventually reach a bus stop and hop on a bus ... with hilarious consequences.

Stay tuned to find out how it carries on!

Random

I feel that my drawing is improving, the character too has evolved, becoming simpler but easier to manage. I will have to address my character development in response to this, and redesign him.

Bad times ...

I have lost the file for my script. This has set me back as I have no back up what so ever, so today I shall have to rewrite it.

Developments

I have altered the storyboard. I have removed the secondary character of the woman as I believe it to be non essential to the storyline. It is too personal to my own story, and I wish to distance myself from the piece as it is detracting from what I want to say.

Colouring in

First experiments with colour have proved interesting. I have decided to lose the black outline of the character and scenery, and use a cell shade technique instead. I feel it makes the piece look more natural, yet abstract at the same time, particularly with the blue.

Remember me?

After a massivelty prolonged absence, DukemDoodles is finally back! Here is the first 10 seconds of my final film project, only 3 days work ... ouch! Flash is a new program for me, and drawing directly into it is by the far the most alienating experience I have had in this course. Any way, let me know what you think!

Still going

I am still sticking to the program; it is proving to be a lot faster than drawing everything by hand, scanning it in, and then editing it. I am doing all of that at once by drawing straight into Flash. I may become a convert yet.

Day one ...

I have begun use of Macromedia Flash MX 2004 program today. I am not completely confident with the program, so this will be a steep learning curve. I have only used a pencil to draw before, now I am using a graphic tablet. The transition is different and confusing; I am finding it hard to get the correct effect.