Final Layouts

For the layouts of the first half of the film, it was important to keep a blue/grey wash as the main overriding colour scheme. Colour, as well as hope and life, is gone from this world. The low saturation not only gave the layouts a feeling of melancholy, but allowed the stark black silhouettes of the crows and the characters to stand out, and the bright orange hearts to catch the eye.

The layouts of the simple skyline remained almost detail free - in order for the eye to be drawn to the Man who will be standing upon the ledge.

As soon as we are back down at ground level, everything is much more detailed and I used crosshatching as well as the colour to shade the doorways and ground. It gives it a grimy, tactile appearance.

The full vertical layout of the hospital roof begins simple in order for the crow action to be clear, but again, as we reach our point of focus - the window - more detail and harsher shading is used to draw the eye inward.

Inside the hospital, we have a similarly dull, toneless environment, throwing into contrast the black of the moniter screen and the white wires and tubes which will be strapped to the old man in his bed.

In sharp contrast to the first half of the film, we finally reach Edgars Studio, and see it is brightly saturated with oranges and yellows - even the shadows are purple as opposed to grey. Here in this particular layout, we have the transition between the outside world and Edgars. The greying, darkening sky is outside the window, only beginning to be dotted with pale stars. It is the opposite to Edgars lively, misshapen house with its bright and warm lights. I added the unusual array of bottles and jars to further emphasise how weird and wonderful his little workshop is; much different to the straight lines and sensible props of the first half of the movie.

Since Edgar was so important to the story, I added a few little bits and pieces to flesh out his personality - like a portrait of his family, books, and a map of the word.

Once outside his studio, I wanted to show that the night sky had become much richer than the sky before. The glow of the orange sunset is reflected in the stars.

Layout - Sequence 2 - Crash

Testing out a shading style for the layouts - I think the crosshatching compliments the rough line as well as giving a grimy texture to the scene which works nicely for our 'hopeless city.'

Animatic

Final Animatic for Lullaby, after some tweaking and insertion of completed/altered layouts.

Final Look of the Film

I mocked up a few screenshots, to give us an idea of what the final film will look like, and what we want three of the main sequences to accomplish.

 We liked the overall atmosphere of the first concept I did, and want to maintain it, so I threw on some of the crows having a chat.

The hospital scene is unchanged, as once again, the sketchy concept looked better than when I attempted to polish it.

The final scene is by far my favourite, and I used a number of different photoshop brushes to create a sparkling, fizzing effect. I think it will look brilliant if left boiling in the final animation.

Concept Artwork

 A concept work of the cityscape from the first sequence. I wanted it to remain simple, readable, whilst still being forlorn and almost colourless. The fogging effect created with a special brush gave the city a look of heavy smog which works pretty well.

The hospital scene saw me able to experiment with shading and toning in a way I was unable to in the cityscape. The colour set is still blue grey, dull, almost lifeless, in order for the important parts to stand out. (That being the stark black and white of the man and his equipment.) 

Inside Edgar's studio, the colour set starkly changes. I used warm, bright colours, as well as a brighter purple for the areas of shadow which contrasts pretty nicely. His studio is a busy place, where he stores all kinds of bits and pieces in his crooked shelves and drawers. 

 A character sheet for some of the crows, the three who we focus on in sequence 4. Each was designed to have his own personality and appearance. I also sketched out some crows in flight, as the flight will likely be the most challenging to animate.

 A simple line up of some of the crows on telephone wires, experimenting with different shapes and styles to convey personality.

 Some clearer illustrations of various bits and pieces in Edgars studio. We wanted it to appear crowded and full of collected nick-nacks from years past.

Some options for the heart jars. The one one the bottom far left is the one we will most likely be using. It has an appealing round shape, and is simple to draw. The taller jars would look too cumbersome, and the more complicated lids and handles would prove too challenging and distracting when animated. However, the jar lid would probably be removed in the final movie, simply because crows cannot use screw tops!

Storyboards: Sequence 5

 Edgar carries his jars up to the roof, one of the crows watches curiously. Long shot. Colour set has changed to warm oranges and purples, to show the shift of hope.

 He puts the jars down.

 Reaches to grab something hidden in the roof, crow looks puzzled.

One swift movement, he throws up a long ladder which shoots up offscreen into the sky.

He takes the jars and hooks them over his arm.

 He begins to climb.

 Climbs up offscreen.

 Mid shot, he climbs on screen...

 ...and on...

 ...aaand off again!

 Further out, longer shot. He climbs...

 and climbs...

 ...and climbs!

 He finally climbs on screen and reaches his destination, happy with himself.

 He plops the jars upon an invisible ledge on the white mass.

 He reaches up offscreen...

 ...and pulls down a long, pale blue wire, with orange wiring visible.

 Cuts to a close up of the jar of hearts.

 To show his hand reaching in to grab one of the heart 'bulbs.'

 He pulls the bulb out.

Cuts back to him fiddling out of sight with the wire and the heart...

 ...which he has fused together and proudly presents against the white backdrop.

 Gently he lets it go, the bulb swinging a little.

 Slow zoom out, the bulb flickers and buzzes into life, shining brightly.

 Continue to zoom, we see more and more heart lamps strung up in the sky. The white mass is the moon. 

 More and more heart lamps appear as we zoom out. The souls of the people have become the stars in the night sky.