Minor Project: 'Franklin' Character Influences

Below is a collection of influential images for the Franklin character.

 I wanted to retain the naivety of the character, so that he's not matured to the point where he can question or see issues with his actions. He is just living impulsively. 

Because of this, I've decided to keep him around the age of 7 or 8 years old. Whilst the images below vary in age group, the aesthetic is still relevant to the character.

The first influence map depicts children of the 1970s wearing typical clothing and engaging in typical activities of the time. The majority of the images were taken by photographer Colin O'Brien, although I've also included an advertising campaign from the time for Lego. The children in the adverts are not only a similar age to Franklin, but their expressions of accomplishment also resonate with the character and his actions.

The second influence map depicts particularly unsettling children in cinema. For the majority of the story, Franklin is meant to emit an aura of menace, whilst providing an impression of innocence to the rest of the world. The children in the influence map all provide this impression (with the exception of Sid from Toy Story, who was included as a source of influence for the second act).

Minor Project: Establishing an Aesthetic

Establishing an Aesthetic

In an effort to establish a general aesthetic throughout my animation, I have compiled a collection of influence maps, each containing examples from a variety of different areas of influence. The majority of these influences were drawn from the mid-eighties and early-nineties, although there are some exceptions, which will be explained below.

The Overall Aesthetic
My animation is set during a period where once heralded technology has reached a point of redundancy. Technology has been surpassed by the constant advancement and development that comes with the territory. I've chosen to use technology of the 1980's as a point of focus, being that this was a period of rapid technological development and consistent breakthroughs, as well as the fact that the technology of that period is the best example of technology that was both state of the art at the time, but painfully obsolete now.

These are examples of technology that are both reminiscent of the 1980's, as well as being considered obsolete and redundant. Whilst many of these items were state of the art at the time, at this point in time, they are far past their expiry date. It is this theme of redundancy and passing trends that I aim to include in the overall feel of my animation. I am taking influence from the visual appearance of these items, as well as the idea that many of them serve to solve a problem that didn't exist, such as the Sinclair C5.

Character Influences

Being that the overall aesthetic is influenced by the 1980s, I plan to design the characters in a similar vein. Specifically, I wish to design the Robots with the fashion of the 1980s in mind, looking specifically at the fashion associated with teenagers in films of the time.

In regards to the Male Robot character, I plan to develop him as sort of a nerdy, shy guy, lacking in confidence but overflowing with charm and heart. This will be the general direction the character will go in, but I want to refrain from making the character completely clichè. 

Being that the Male Robot character is the more outdated character of the two, I plan to design him with a more experimental, underdeveloped, prototype style in mind. The character will not be 100% complete, showing that the robot was more about functionality than style. For both characters, I've decided to use a bipedal, humanoid design, at least at this early stage. Mainly because I want to avoid making them cutesy, tiny things (à la Wall-E), so that any perception of the characters being at all sweet or cute will come from their actions and not their appearance.

As for the Female Robot character, I've taken influence from more icy, mysterious and aloof characters. Characters that at first appear cold and disinterested, but once their intentions are made clear, they become more understandable and more relatable. The appearance of the character will be loosely similar to these examples, but these are more of an influence in terms of personality. 

The Female Robot, being more modern in her design, will be far more refined and sleek compared to the Male Robot, but she will still share an aesthetic with technology that is obsolete. The examples of actual robots above(i.e. not from a film, game or television show), are robots that, whilst they are far more advanced than the influences for the Male Robot, they are also from a period that is now obsolete. They retain a very 1990s feel, which, in the scheme of things, is just as obsolete as the 1980s.

Influence Map for the Palace Interior from 'The Masque of the Red Death'

This influence map consists of images of Georgian period interiors, Gothic architectural elements and examples of mood lighting for the coloured lighting in each of the suites.

The Georgian interior is the general approach I’m going for, so I’ve found a variety of images ranging from grand scale spectacles of interior design to smaller, more quaint, yet no less impressive examples. I’ve also selected Gothic elements to combine with the Georgian aspects to reflect the Prince’s “taste for the bizarre”. The mood lighting was found as reference for the lighting unique to each suite, giving me an idea of how to apply the lighting in my painting.

Influence Map for the Tower Design in 'The House on the Borderland'

This influence map is simply for the construction of the 'stupendous structure' in 'The House on the Borderland'. The structure is "at a distance of several miles and occupying the centre of the arena, a stupendous structure built apparently of green jade". The first thing that creeped into my head when I thought of large ancient structures was the Tower of Babel. The reflectivity and crystalline construction of the green jade has led to me looking at the buildings at the French amusement park, Futuroscope, the planet of Midnight from Doctor Who, a planet made of diamonds and sapphires, the crystalline palace Dr. Manhattan creates on Mars in Watchmen and conceptual skyscraper designs. The narrator also states that "in no particular, save in colour and it's enormous size, did the lonely structure vary from the house in which I live". Taking influence from earlier descriptions of the narrator's house ("This house, how ancient it is! though its age strikes one less, perhaps, than the quaintness of its structure, which is curious and fantastic to the last degree. Little curved towers and pinnacles, with outlines suggestive of leaping flames, predominate; while the body of the building is in the form of a circle."), I've looked a structures similar, and I aim to incorporate the similar structural elements in the design of the structure.

Structure Influence Map for 'The Shunned House'

This is an influence map for the exterior appearance of the titular house in 'The Shunned House'. I've gathered images of elements mentioned within the text,

"broken fanlight, rotting ionic pilasters and wormy triangular pilament"


The building is of a similar construction to an Eighteenth century farmhouse, with various Georgian stylistic elements. The Georgian elements could also be translated to the design of the palace in 'The Masque of the Red Death', being set in a similar period. I've also put together some loose colour swatches, dabbing a bit of colour here and there just to see how they behave together, as well as setting the uneasy, gloomy tone and aesthetic of the story (quite halloween-y, but hopefully that will shift and change as the image takes shape.)

Initial Influence Map for 'The Shunned House'

This is the initial influence map for 'The Shunned House'. Going by the description in the excerpt, I've put together a few images of dilapidated Georgian-period houses, as well as elements of building degradation and the actual inspiration for the titular house.
Its an obvious place to start, but its early days (although I know how fast crit day will come!) and my ideas will (hopefully) take a more creative and adventurous turn soon enough.

Body Structure Influence Map

This influence map is compiled of images that aren't necessarily relevant to my creature or the theme of the task, but the design of the subjects is inspiration for the overall structure of my hybrid. It does seem entirely random, and well, thats because it pretty much is. But hey, everyone draws influence from different things, and apparently mine is from fictional space aliens and androids. 

Images within this influence map are Robocop (specifically the exposed jaw design of the helmet), Cthulu (for the tentacles), an example of radiation poisoning (for the diseased, encrusted surface of the hybrid), 'Maria' from 'Metropolis' (for the metal panels and angular structure, as well as the idea of an outer shell), an Ood from 'Doctor Who' (for the tentacles and head structure), a Facehugger from 'Alien' (for the wrap-around look of the tentacles and the general idea of a lifeform 'latching on' to something else, much like the gene structure of one lifeform to another), a Splicer from the video game, 'Bioshock' (for the diseased appearance, ragged clothing and inspiration concerning the transformative process) and finally, the squid from 'Watchmen' (simply because it seemed to lend itself so well to the design of my hybrid).