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Art
Character concept art, turnarounds, storyboards and style frames for Muse are all created by David with some assistance from Frankie. The style consists of simple and rounded art featuring black silhouette characters with white eyes. Although the shapeshifter can transform into other characters, he is still recognisable to the audience because he remains a completely black colour throughout the show, whereas every other character will blend in with the colour scheme of each scene. Backgrounds are simple designs with black lineart and follow a colour script. These have been drawn by both David and Will. All concept artworks and some backgrounds were drawn in Adobe Photoshop CS6. Others were drawn in ToonBoom Harmony or Procreate.
Animation
The animation for Muse was produced entirely by David using ToonBoom Harmony. The style is a mix of traditional and puppet animation. Since the characters are silhouettes, the animation is a lot quicker and easier to produce. There are a variety of unique transformations the shapeshifter goes through. Some are tweens and traditionally animated morphs between the characters, whereas others transition with the camera movement itself. Since there is no dialogue in this animation, the goal is to portray the character's emotions accurately through action in mainly body language and eye shapes.
Music
An original soundtrack for Muse is being produced by IrishSoul (or Payton) using FL Studio. The main theme will alternate between a variety of instruments based on which character the shapeshifter has morphed into and also depending on the mood of the scene. An example of the soundtrack is already in production for the animatic of Muse.
Production Process
Here is the step-by-step process on how this project was made.
Programs are clearly labelled in the production pipeline image on the left.
Initial Ideation
Drawing thumbnails based on research and inspiration. These are accompanied with notes of ideas for the project. These are compiled together to form a pitch for the short film.
Script
Writing to develop and conform those initial ideas into a full story. This will be the foundation for the short film production.
Concept Artwork
Developing the initial artwork ideas into fully developed characters. The initial thumbnails and script both come together to form these designs.
Storyboard
Drawing a visual representation of the script to show what the animation may look like. This will be used to develop the animatic and animation. Notes on camera angles are included, whereas dialogue is excluded since no characters speak in this production.
Animatic
A timed version of the storyboard in video format. This aids the animation production by delivering the most accurate representation of what the final animation will look like.
Music Demo
A soundtrack is produced to fit the animatic. This serves as an example for what the final music piece will sound like.
Backgrounds
These are designed following the colour script for the project. Multi-plane backgrounds are required for parallaxing in shots that have camera movements or for areas that appear over animations. Some of these are created during animation production too.
Character Rigs
Animatable versions of the characters are formed with the help of finalized concept art, turnarounds, construction sheets and height charts. These are created in the animation software ToonBoom Harmony.
Animation
Putting the backgrounds and character rigs together while following the foundations of the project (such as the script, storyboard and especially the animatic) are what forms the creation of the final animation.
Editing
Post-production begins by compositing the separate animated scenes together and given small tweaks in timings. This is where special effects and finishing touches like titles and credits are added.
Music
The edited cut of the animation is sent to the music producer to begin composing an official soundtrack for the finished short film by following the determined timings.
Finishing Touches
The music is added to the final cut of the animation and exported as a final composite.
The film is complete!
You can view a comparison of the animatic and final film for Muse here:
Contact Details
David Barrow
Payton Petkus
William Blanchard
Francesca Wood
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