Texturing and Other Changes

I am finally in the final stage of development.  In these last few weeks, I will be texturing, lighting, rendering, compositing, and adding special effects, as well as color grading and finalizing my credits.  I am really excited about this film, but this quarter got off to a slow start for me thanks to an unexpected illness.  Luckily, I'm back on my feet now and ready to hit the road running.
During the short break between quarters, I worked with Michelle and Nora (Art Directors) to redefine a look for the short to get a better sense of what I want it to look like.  I am shying away from the completely photo-realistic look and trying to go with a stop-motion inspired stylization with believable textures.  I will be posting the new mood boards soon.  I also have to make adjustments to my backgrounds.  (I apologize now if anyone has seen the current backgrounds, they are only placeholders.)
One of the changes I am making is adjusting models to fit the elongated and eschewed look.  We have also pulled references from films in the 1950's to get an idea of the colors, look, and styles they used.
I wanted to share one of the images I've been working on.  While this is only a test with preliminary test lighting and a simple checkered environment, I can see the direction I am going for in this one and I really love the look of it.  I will post more soon!

Style Frames and MoodBoard

For the past few weeks, I have been busy working on organizing my team and getting my texturing and animation under way.  One part of this was to prepare an updated mood board that shows inspiration and reference material.  I also made 3 Style Frames, which are sort of like making a goal for where you want the look of the film to go.  So without further ado, my Style Frames and Mood Board.

Some inspirations come from Pixar's Blue Umbrella, Laika's Paranorman, and Sony's Monster House.

Opening scene where the sun sets and "Ray" is born.

Ray ends up inside this office before getting frustrated at the desk lamp.

As Ray gets exhausted, he gives it one last chance.

Production 1, Mid-terms

Right now we are in the middle of Mid-Terms for the first half of production.  We have already finished 2 milestones, are are finishing up the 3rd, with 5 total milestones this quarter.  So far, I have completely reworked the timing, several key concepts, and the style.  I am very pleased with the direction this is going, and the real production begins today.

From here on out, I need to have my character rigged, models built, environments developed, and animation blocked in, for starters.  I have already started with building some of the assets, such as the various environments.  As for the style, I am going for an elongated and slightly skewed look, which I plan to place in the 1950's through the design of the objects.  I want to make this look something akin to stylized realism, using realistic lighting and rendering and textures on a highly stylized world.

So here are the new developments for the film, including style guide and a 3D Animatic.