It has been a while - but spent a long time putting everything together for submission - including all the nitty gritty bits that need doing!

And finally, here is my critical evaluation;

During the Final Major Project, both my artistic technique and researching skills have developed to show a substantial improvement compared with previous years. However, the Final Major Project is reliant on independent study and time management skills, which are factors that have affected my project in both positive and negative ways.

FMP1 encouraged me not only dedicate most of my time to finding useful information, but it also made me push my own abilities to learn and attempt something new. Due to the independent nature of the study, becoming captivated by the subject of research was effortless, which I believe is apparent in my own work. The three main areas which I researched where; dark horror stories, the paranormal and the art of creating a graphic novel. The choice to study these areas was influenced by previous work, so I felt that I already had a certain knowledge and interest of these subjects. I would regard FMP1 as being some of the most organised and focused work I have ever accomplished (although I saved each individual page as a JPEG file, not realising that the Universities computers would open them in slower programme than my own, making it appear unorganised) . The biggest problem was managing time efficiently. I discovered that too much time was spent on researching less informative areas than areas which would have supported the FMP2 study more effectively. For example, the more useful part of the study came from researching existing graphic novels. It directly informed me of how to begin creating my own graphic novel. Whereas the research into horror stories needed less time because I already knew much more on the subject in comparison. The research into the paranormal was not used at all during FMP2, but it aided me in creating a mood. When FMP1 had finished, I felt that I had learnt a lot – but perhaps not quite enough about creating a graphic novel. But this could also be down to the idea that I am more interested in creating art than I am creative writing.

FMP2 felt like a more natural study thanks to it being more like previous years, and was not written research dependant. Using techniques and skills inherited in previous years, I began taking the information of how to create graphic novels learnt in FMP1, and began creating a scene from my own story. The artwork shows signs of further improvement and visually contains a much stronger sense of atmosphere. My Photoshop command is more refined, with improvements in digital editing and colouring. I would also argue that my technique of digitally editing traditional drawings is now more advanced, with me actually using Photoshop to colour and add extra significant details much more effectively. But the style which I established did become a problem. The traditional drawings took up a short amount of time, whereas the digital editing took up a lot of time. The problem began with the fact that continuity is extremely important when creating a graphic novel scene, a factor I had learnt during FMP1. Due to the artwork being quite complex I found myself having to go backwards much of the time to edit parts of earlier drawings to keep continuity with newer pieces. This is the probable explanation as to why comic book art is generally simple. But I believe that I managed to keep continuity, even if it did take up much of my time, meaning that I had sacrificed quantity for quality - which is not necessarily a negative outcome, but not particularly satisfying on final reflection.

My organisational skills were not as refined during FMP2. Rather than writing the scene, story-boarding it and then doing each individual frame in order, I began by picking a frame purely to keep me engaged, interested and to establish a style. I think that I chose this option because I had already spent a lot of time story-boarding the first scene during FMP1, and decided that I wanted to begin more polished pieces of work. This did not prove to be a negative move until towards the end - because it began to feel slightly disjointed and I found myself having to fill in the blanks. I also chose a scene later on in the story rather than starting from the beginning, which also made the work feel slightly disjointed towards the end. The scene itself is not finished, but rather just a part of a scene - due to the amount of time it took to do each individual piece. I have learnt this year that setting a realistic goal is very important, and that had I decided to start from the beginning and done the project in a more orderly fashion, things would have been easier later on.

The Final Major Project has given me a great opportunity to continue, even when I have finished the course. I intend to continue work on the graphic novel and publish it via the internet as a 'web-comic', releasing a new scene approximately every two months. It has also been recommended to contemplate locating a writer who may have more experience in creative writing than I have - not only to maximise the stories potential, but also take some of the weight from my own shoulders. The story itself has quite a lot of depth due to my previous two years dedicated to developing the characters and their backgrounds. The research into the paranormal which did not directly affect the work in FMP2 will eventually be used when I reach the appropriate scenes.

All in all, I am satisfied with my achievements during the Final Major Project. I would have liked to be more organised and perhaps had more of a final outcome. The original plan for FMP2 was to establish a style and technique for the future of my graphic novel, and I feel that I have done so. It has been a steep learning process, and the fact that I want to carry the project on suggests that it was a success.

1011 Words.

Gave a little faith to an older drawing which I previously mentioned that I was unhappy with and would not be using. Decided I still needed the shot and tried editing. My main goal was to keep continuity (a word I have used a lot) with the previous piece and think it was successful! But this in-turn means I need to go back and edit the other images to match these two a bit more.

Another piece - running into problems with continuity due to the technique slightly changing. Continuity is extremely important when it comes to showing a narrative visually - a lack of continuity makes it harder to follow. This new image of Michael holding the sheers is from the first-person viewpoint of the evil character. I am very pleased with this piece. The only problem is that it does not look similar enough to the 'stabbing' image of Michael - I may have to go back to that piece and alter it slightly until it suits this one. Perhaps adding some detail to his clothing may fix this problem.

Some more edits - took a while, tried to make them as good as I could get them - very pleased with the end result. Getting the snow right proved difficult.





And here is a final draft page!

Okay I know it has been a while, but I have been busy editing!

Here is a first glipse of the polished 'stabbing sequence' (nice).



I have been working on the storyboard for the scene too - that will follow shortly...

So here is the other close up which will come after Michaels close-up...



I have decided he should be wearing a hood - seeing as this scene is near the climax and the cult should be wearing 'cult' styled clothing, meaning I will have to change the other image of the character where he is instead wearing a hat. I wanted a creepy smile - as he will be saying "You will never find them" in response to Michael asking where his children are (I will try and make the plot and order to all these images clearer very soon!).

What have I been up to?

Well, first things first, I saw the Watchmen film. Hmmmmmm. Couldn't decide whether it was good or not. Some aspects I liked. Character building was well done. Props and constumes. But the whole film seemed too be too vibrant looking, it needed to be much grimier. I understand that the novels artwrok did not look particulary grimy, but the story is very dark and disturbing in place. Anyway...

I have also been playing Resident Evil 5. The game is having mixed reviews, but all I can say is, WOW! Lots of complaints about the controls being too slow and too retro. But it wouldn't be Resident Evil anymore if they changed them. I would have liked it to be darker (person preference) but the emphasis on action pays off when it comes to creating tension. Oh, and did I mention that it looks beautiful. Best player models and creature designs I have ever seen.

Now onto the art work. I am working backwards, but I do not think this is a problem. Rather than polishing of the image I had been working on, I wanted to keep the ball rolling by continuing the charcoal drawings. I began with an image I plan to have a couple of shots earlier than the previous image I was working on, where Michael is holding the shears up to the mans throat, but I was unhappy with how it was going (below). I don't think Michael looks mean enough - so will be starting it again.



And below is another drawing of a close-up of Michaels mouth. I wanted him to look very angry - at this point he will be asking the man where his children are hidden (just before unleashing the shears into his thigh).



Anyways - back to work.

Finally finished The Watchmen novel.

Great... but what an anti-climax!?

Looking forward to see how hollywodd has tackled the complex charater profiles, storyline and imagery. From what I have read, generally people who have enjoyed the film have not read the novel, and those that have read the novel tend to dismiss the film as 'rubbish'. I hope the case is not the same for me - do not know whether I could stand 3 hours and 5 minutes of a film which is 'rubbish'.

Anyway, here is the next drawing.



And here is a very quick digital edit to give an idea of composition. I plan to now stick them onto a canvas and try to work some tradtional methods into the backdrop before any more digital editing.

Okay so I was gone longer than expected. Again.
But I have been slightly busy...

First off, I went to see The Unborn at the cinema. And as the review stated in a previous post I made, the film was rubbish. Lack of story. Not scary. Cliched. The list could go on. But hey, it showed me how not to shoot my own story.

I have also been reading the Watchmen graphic novel. Do not like the artwork at all, but the stroy is very well told and has some interested sequences. Going to wait to see the new film after I have finished the novel.

Lastly I have begun preliminary drawings for a polished scene where Michael is getting angry and is looking for his children - ends up putting a pair of sheers through the thigh of someone who won't speak. Here is the first quick concept I have done;



And here is the beginning of a more polished drawing of angry Michael, for the same image.

Okay, so it's been ages since I've come on here - must have slipped my mind during all that dissertation writing I have been doing!

Anyway, my goal is to now start doing more polished scenes for the graphic novel. I want to move away from the digital elements I have been learning of late and start with tradtional pieces (paint, canvas etc) and then later combine these and edit using the digital techniques.

And I MUST come and show the blog what I have been up to a lot more often!

Back soon.

Very soon.

Here are some of the pages with more drawings on. Tried to make them a bit darker this time.

And Wii does horror, named Winter! It looks very old-school Resident Evil style, with lots of detective work, check out a video here;

Winter

Okay, so I have been so busy getting research together, and I am still learning so much. It is safe to say I have been on the biggest learning curve since leaving school!
Anyway, here are some of the things I have done;

I saw the remake of the 1980s horror, My Bloody Valentine - but this time it is in 3D. The extra dimension really helped this film become something a little special. The 3D effects were very good, making those death scenes that much more gory (the one where a female gets a spade shoved through her mouth until she is impaled on the wall behind really is enhanced as the top half of her head slides down the spade towards the audience).

A trailer;
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=mJFCJaSr2Xk

A review;
http://uk.movies.ign.com/articles/946/946017p1.html

And when seeing that film, I saw another trailer for a film which is due out soon called The Unborn. The trailer looked bloody scary, and what I found even more interesting is that it is based on demonic possession. A quote from an IGN review says "The film deserves credit for showing that demonic possession in movies isn't exclusively the purview of Catholic clergy". Food for thought;

A trailer;
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=zsAJCZddBfw&feature=related

A review;
http://uk.movies.ign.com/articles/941/941640p1.html

Elsewhere I have just been putting research together and organising!

Big Update for the week - internet has been a bit dodgy so unable to post. So here goes. Been looking at the paranormal. Demons, Poltergeists and even Stigmata. Here is one of the pages of research.



And here are some of the thumbnail sketches of ideas for page layouts, as well as the introduction script.

The morning is overcast and cold. Condensation creeps up the large window situated in a large empty room. A hollow shell of the master bedroom it once was. A bottle of whiskey sits on the window, Michael casts a long shadow, as he stand solemnly, holding the bill for a funeral. A bill long over due.

Michael: You'd think they'd wait to send the bill.

Michael takes a deep breath of cold air, rests the bill down and clutches the bottle and pours whiskey on the rocks. Drinks. Slams.

Michael: At least I don't have to make a speech.

He sighs. Silent, self-loathing. His arm lurches towards the window as his body follows. Scarlet enters the room behind him. Michael hears her, but doesn't turn round.

Scarlet: "The car is here honey".

She stands in the doorway. Her shadow meets Michael's in the middle of the room. He sighs once more.











So little time...

A couple more research pages - starting to build up quite nicely now! :)

Happy New Year!

Feeling inspired.
Here is a photo (until my scanner is fixed) of the thumbnails I have been doing for the introductary scene for my novel. And a sktechbook page as a taster to my graphic novel research.