New ideas~

So for grad panel I had received lots of great suggestions on a few parts of my story. This has led me decide to make some changes to my story which include changes to the time period and major cuts/additions to certain parts.

1. First change- time period- instead of story that takes place in modern times with a traditional Japanese wedding, I've decided to make it so that the whole story is set during a different time period. Some possible choices include the late Muromachi period (1392-1573) during the Sengoku era (1467-1573), mid/late Edo period(1603-1867) or during the early Modern Japan period set in Meiji/Taisho era. So far I haven't decided for sure when it will be set, just that it will definitely be during one of the above mentioned periods.
2. Second change- I finally have a way to explain what a 'sunshower' is without really having to do any animation. My previous problem was that I couldn't get the idea across clearly enough for others to understand. I have decided to add a small and short description/definition towards the beginning after the title is shown.
3. Third change- due to the period/era change, I will have to change the settings/characters etc so that it matches the time period. For example, the vehicles won't be cars but carriages/rickshaws. So the majority of the obstacles Mitsu faces will be adjusted to fit the time change.

Temporary Story Outline:

Working title- "Sunshowers"->small and short description/definition of what a sunshower is

-bride stands at the base of the shrine before wedding, lost in thought, eventually runs away with lover
-mitsu (in fox/animal form) witnesses this event, decides to take the place of the bride and marry the groom who is already at the shrine waiting
-marriage takes place, Mitsu and groom are married
-couple live their lives together, Mitsu is always on guard about her disguise being found out, has many close calls
-one day Mitsu decides the feelings she has developed for her husband is too complicated/confusing and decides to leave
-husband finds out his wife has left him and begins to search for her
-husband eventually finds Mitsu at their first meeting place (shrine), they reveal their true feelings for each other. Husband tells Mitsu that he knew of her true form for awhile, but still loves her. Mitsu reveals that at first it was just a joke/fun for her but she eventually fell in love with the husband.
-after making peace with each other, the two decide to remarry, this time with Mitsu in her true, humanoid form
-story ends with a sunshower taking place during the wedding

Obstacles:

I haven't quite decided where I should include these obstacles but here are ideas for some obstacles that Mitsu faces during her married life. Most of these ideas revolve around the idea of Mitsu's disguise being found out.

-snake (one of the natural enemies of the fox) in the garden-ears & tail pop out in fright
-love for tofu products- swishing tail
-use of foxfire magic
-communication with visiting fox friends or other demons
-mitsu in her animal fox form or her humanoid fox form (ears & tail)

Settings

Here are some setting designs that may or may not be used:

Risa's Room:

Shrine, bottom of shrine stairs:

Shrine, grounds with a view of most areas:

Shrine, side building, where Mitsu lives:

Mitsu & Ryu's House, entryway and kitchen:

Kitchen:

Bedroom:

Character Designs-Mitsu & Ryu

Here are some character designs:

Mitsu:

Ryu:

ANIM321-Creative Development for Filmmaking Animation-sun showers animatic-unfinished

Here's an animatic of "Sun Showers". It is still unfinished, due to the missing ending and is still a little fast. Down below is the video and a link in case it doesn't work.

"Sun Showers"

Creative Development for Filmmmaking Animation-"Sun Showers"-incomplete from Sandy Sou on Vimeo.

Some Visual References

Here are images and links to some of the references I used:

Shrine grounds and layout:

Wedding ritual "San San Kudo" and reference for inner shrine:
Explanation of San San Kudo
More on San San Kudo

Traditional Japanese Wedding Kimono:

Henohenomoheji-Risa's lover's face:

ANIM321-Creative Development for Filmmaking Animation-Story

Here's a description of what happens in my story:

A bride, Risa, is unhappy with the arranged marriage she is in, and questions the idea of love and whether there was such a thing. She is prepared to leave for the shrine where her wedding is to take place, but before entering the car her attendant slips the bride a note, claiming it is from Risa's lover. During the trip to the shrine, Risa opens the note, finding that it is indeed a note from her lover, telling her to not marry and run away with him. Risa finally arrives at the shrine and as she looks upon the shrine, a voice calls out to her. She turns her head in the direction of the voice and sees that it is her lover! He holds out his hand out towards her and tells her to hop on his bike and elope with him. Risa is ecstatic and agrees and rides off with her lover, moments before the wedding starts.

Soon after, a rustling is heard from the bushes by the shrine gates. Out pops a shrine fox who had just witnessed the bride runaway from the wedding. She takes the headpiece that had fallen from the bride's head in her getaway and brings it to the head shrine maiden of the shrine. There she explains to the shrine maiden, Mitsu, that the bride had run away, and that the shrine would be in big trouble if the wedding does not go on. Mitsu is not too worried about this and decides that this situation is quite amusing and decides that it would be more amusing and funny to disguise herself as the bride, go through with the wedding and live a few decades with the husband and leave when she got bored. The wedding goes on without a hitch and Mitsu, who is successfully transformed as Risa, and her husband, Ryu, start a life together.

Newlywed life is great for the two. Mitsu and Ryu easily fall into their roles as housewife and breadwinner. One day, Mitsu is bedridden with a very high fever and Ryu is there to take care of her. As he is changing the towel on her forehead, he notices fox ears suddenly popping up on Mitsu's head, replacing the human ears he's so used to seeing. Surprised and confused, Ryu rubs his eyes and looks upon Mitsu to see a human form and no animal ears. The first time this happens he thinks nothing of it, thinking that it was just a trick of the light, but from then on decides to keep quiet and observe for now.

As the years by there are moments where Mitsu has come close to letting her disguise slip. She thinks that Ryu does not know of her true identity when in fact he had been suspecting and had already confirmed Mitsu's true identity, and does not mind at all. One night as Ryu is asleep, Mitsu is awake and thinking about how she feels strange in regards to Ryu and how these feelings of hers annoy her. Finally, she comes to the conclusion that perhaps she's just getting bored and decides that it is time to leave. That morning, Ryu wakes up to find that the bed is empty. He thinks nothing of it until he goes downstairs for breakfast and sees a prepared meal, a wedding ring and a note. Ryu finally realizes that Mitsu had finally decided to leave.

Both Mitsu and Ryu continue on with their lives, with Mitsu returning to her duties as the shrine's guardian and Ryu continuing to work. During the time of their separation, Mitsu feels regret because soon after returning to the shrine, she had realized that the feelings she felt for Ryu was love and she wanted to see him again but was afraid to. Meanwhile, Ryu decides to search for Mitsu because he feels that he cannot live without her because everything reminds him of her, that she had just left without telling him why and most importantly because he loves her, even with the lie she told.

One day one of Ryu's coworkers, who knows about Ryu's problem suggests to try and go back to the place where he'd first met Mitsu and perhaps he might find her there. Ryu follows his friend's advice and decides to go the shrine where he had his wedding the next day. He enters the shrine and sees a person who looks similar to the Risa he knows, and instantly figures out that the person he is seeing is the one he is looking for. Ryu goes up to Mitsu and tells her his feelings about her and that he knew all along that she was not Risa, but still fell in love with her and wants to continue living their lives together. After hearing Ryu's feelings, Mitsu also confesses her feelings and they both reintroduce themselves, this time with Mitsu using her true identity.

The story ends with Mitsu and Ryu getting married at the shrine again on a sunny day, when all of a sudden it starts showering during the day and Mitsu mentions how the rain is out to ruin her wedding, while Ryu comments on how it's probably because its a 'fox's wedding'.

ANIM321-Creative Development for Filmmaking Animation- Character Dynamics- Ryu Takano

Here are the character dynamics for the main male character in my grad film:

Biography-

Name- Ryu Takano
Age- on day of marriage- around 25-28, time spent with Mitsu- around 10-15 years
Childhood- lived a happy childhood, with a loving family
Family, friends- family consists of mother, father and older brother. Friends include a childhood friend, some high school, university and work friends. Is actually quite the popular person and gets along well with others.
Era- modern day era, 21st century
Culture- Japanese culture, with some Western influences
Ethnic background- Japanese
Religion- his family, specifically the elders, are Shinto, though the younger generations do not claim to anything and only attend events to satisfy the elders.
Profession- salaryman-supervisor position
Income- enough to get by
Dreams- to take over the family business one day
Goals/Ambition- to be a good husband, and to learn as much as possible to succeed in taking over the family business
Morals-
Physical Health- quite healthy, no health issues
Hygiene- likes to keep clean and live in a clean environment
Diet- not a picky eater, loves eating home cooked meals, especially Mitsu’s cooking
Sex Life- no issues, quite normal?
Intelligence- quite smart, notices things quickly, but tends to keep quiet until a full answer is clear
Education- graduated with top marks, quite smart even though he may not seem like it, doesn’t like standing out, so he holds back
Need/Purpose-
Idiosyncrasies-
Weaknesses- puppy dog looks, especially Mitsu’s, animals
Evolution/Life Cycle- average human life cycle
Stereotype/Archetype-
Obstacles- Mitsu’s secret and her attempts to keep her true form hidden
Values-
Sense of humour- is easily amused, especially by Mitsu’s antics
Fears- losing Mitsu, he loves her, even with her secret
Environment- feels comfortable wherever Mitsu is, she has a peaceful aura, quiet places, doesn’t care much for crowds and louds noises
Self View- sees himself as a fair person that gives everyone a second chance, believes that there is always a reason for someone’s action
Nocturnal habits- heavy sleepy
Flaws-
Talent- can play the piano and violin and is surprisingly a good cook
Addictions- none

ANIM321-Creative Development for Filmmaking Animation-Character Dynamics-Mitsu

Here's the character dynamics for the character Mitsu:

Biography-

Name-“Mitsu”- main female character
Age- outside- early 20s, real age- many centuries
Gender- female, but can take on any gender with her magic
Childhood- has lived many decades/centuries as the guardian of the shrine where she currently resides.
Family, friends- family and friends includes the other fox familiars/demons on the shrine, and the person she “marries”.
Era- modern day era, 21st century
Culture- Japanese culture, with some Western influences
Ethnic background- Japanese
Religion- Shinto
Profession- shrine maiden/guardian on shrine she lives on, housewife to the man she “marries”.
Income- donations and money from benefactors of the shrine
Dreams- to see and live the “outside” world, to see the shrine she resides on be filled with prosperity.
Goals/Ambitions- to not live a dull and boring life, to live life to the fullest, to trick and prank as many people as possible (due to her nature).
Morals- tries to stick with the teachings of her religion, but tends to stray due to her fun loving, playful, trickster nature.
Physical Health- quite healthy in her demon form, catches occasional bug like any other regular human.
Hygiene- likes to cook and clean, and keep clean (personal hygiene).
Diet- especially loves any kind of tofu related dish, will eat just about anything.
Sex Life- she’s a shrine maiden with the guise of a spiritual being, anything that happens, happens behind closed doors. While living as a human, that may be a different story.
Intelligence- quite intelligent, though she has her dumb moments that often happens when things aren’t thought out carefully enough.
Education- due to her true age, Mitsu has learned many things over the centuries she has lived, likes to learn new things. Not so great with the new technologies of the modern world, so she is a bit slow in some aspects regarding new technology.
Need/purpose- Mitsu has the occasional desire to leave the shrine and see what’s going on in the current world.
Idiosyncrasies- her fox characteristics show up at times, and are often more noticeable depending on how she’s feeling, ex. Ears/tails popping up in fright or surprise.
Weaknesses- due to the nature of her magic which is fire, she is somewhat weak against water, though she is capable of handling other magic and elements. Because snakes are one of the natural enemies of foxes, she detests common snakes and has a slight fear of them but mostly considers them as pests, though demon snakes are a different story. Tends to run away from her problems when things get rough and is sometimes afraid of unfamiliar things. Can be easily bribed with tofu products and money.
Evolution/Life Cycle- Mitsu has more power, wisdom and longevity in life depending on the number of tails she has, she can gain up to nine tails. She started out as a regular fox in her past life before dying and becoming a spiritual creature that serves the god of the shrine she lives on.
Stereotype/Archetype-has the stereotypical feelings most people have regarding emotions.
Obstacles- maintaining the form of a human using the disguise of the woman who was originally intended to marry the main male character. Preventing her husband and surrounding people from finding out her true form for a few decades. Also her confusion and inability to realize her eventual feelings for the man she marries.
Values-
Sense of humour- likes to play pranks on others, mostly because it’s in her nature, though it sometimes backfires on her.
Fears- fears all enemies of the common fox who are spiritual beings, otherwise has no big fear over the common animals. Also is uncomfortable with having unknown/unfamiliar feelings that she has no control over.
Environment- feels most at peace on the shrine/shrine grounds she lives on and eventually in the home she shares with her husband. Is somewhat uncomfortable in crowded places and prefers the quiet.
Self View-
Nocturnal Habits- likes to think and relax at night, it is one of the times where she can release her disguise and be in her true form.
Flaws- sometimes doesn’t look into the future enough, and rushes straight ahead without much thought
Talent- magic, housewife duties
Addictions- nothing serious, slight addiction to tofu products because it’s her most favourite food.

ANIM321-Creative Development for Filmmaking Animation- Production Schedule-May, Week 1

Here's a guess to what my May schedule will be like. Any slots marked with both "homework" and "animation" means that both will be done according to whichever needs to be done first. Ex. if homework isn't due on that day/week, then I will be working on animation related things. I couldn't get a screenshot of the entire schedule, so I have posted links down below.
Below are two links to my May-Week One Schedule:

Link to May-Week One Schedule

PDF Link to May-Week One Schedule

ANIM321-Creative Development for Filmmaking Animation- Proposal

Here is my edited and updated proposal:

Working Title- “Sun Showers”
Summary- A 3-4 minute animated short called “Sun Showers”, about a fox demon’s life with a human as the substitute for a runaway bride.
Working Log Line- “What started out as a source of amusement for the demon, eventually evolves into something more.”
Description- This animated short is about the sweet life of the newlywed fox-demon wife and human husband. The fox makes an effort to keep up her disguise as a human to fool her husband and everyone else and avoiding the growing unfamiliar feelings she starts feeling for her husband. The story incorporates a few Japanese ideas including the shrine setting, demons and the "kitsune no yomeiri" or "fox's wedding" story and the idea that a fox's wedding occurs during "sun showers", showers that happen on a sunny day.
Context and Influences- The idea of this film originated from the influences of Japanese culture. The interest in folktales and stories of myth has led to my decision to include Japanese influences in this project. Another interest is the idea of half human, half animal creatures. The majority of the characters will be these half human, half animal creatures, while the rest are fox familiars and humans. This story doesn't relate to any personal problems or anybody in particular, but the storyline is a bit cliché in most parts. Most influences are from the Japanese comics and cartoons.
Visual Treatment- This animation will be animated and coloured in TVPaint, other programs that might be used include Photoshop, Paint Tool SAI and After Effects. For the colouring process, a simple yet slightly painterly method will be used. Nothing overly complicated, digital colouring will be taken as far as they can with the skill level of digital colouring I have. There won't be anything out of the ordinary regarding lines and shapes; everything will look as close to the actual object as possible, but perhaps with a slight cartoon-y/ Japanese animation/comic feel to it.
Sound Treatment- The voice acting of the characters will mostly be done by some friends. Sound recording will most likely be done using the school’s recording studio. Music/sound with a Japanese/Asian feel to it will mostly be used throughout this animation, especially in scenes such as the wedding scene or locations on the shrine. For music and some sounds, I will start off by finding some musically talented people/friends to help me in composing something to go with the animation, although I will most likely end looking for a composer. Due to the trickster nature of the main character, the voice will be light, playful and sound someone around the ages of 18-25 years old and gradually become more mature, (26-35 years old), yet still maintain the initial characteristics of a sly, fun-loving, trickster fox character. As for the main male character, I plan on using a male voice that is not too high/low and sounds gentle, patient and has a teasing nature to it. Because the rest of the characters are minor characters, voices that fit the age/feel of the character will be used.
Budget- I intend to keep the budget of this film as low as possible, but the minimum amount I plan on spending will be around $3500, while the maximum is in the $4500-$5000 range. With this amount I plan on leaving enough money, perhaps ~$2000-$2500, for a new laptop/computer and other electronics should I find that I'm in need of them. I will need to do research on a reasonable amount to pay for certain things such as a composer if I choose to use one but I feel that around $500-$700 will be enough and can be negotiated and adjusted accordingly. For posters/CDs/name cards etc., I will leave around $200-$300.

-Possible electronics costs $ 2500.00
-Possible money for composer 700.00
-Possible advertising costs 300.00
Total- ----------------------------
$ 3500.00
Agreements- I intend to stay away from using anything that requires acquiring “difficult” permissions as much as possible. Though any agreements that are necessary will be posted and or included on my blog and in the animation credits and will mostly consist of permissions to use the voices of the chosen voice actors and anything I may use from a composer. Anything else that may seem similar to other stories and scripts images, music etc. is purely coincidental.

ANIM321-Creative Development for Animation-Senior Animation Project Proposal Draft-part 1

So here's a draft of my project proposal, I will add more in future posts:
-Working Title- "Sun Showers"
-Summary--A 2-3 mins animated short called "Sun Showers" about a fox demon's life as a human's bride.
-Log Line-"What started out as a prank, eventually evolves into something more".
-Description-This animated short is about the sweet life of the newlywed fox-demon wife and human husband. The story incorporates a few Japanese ideas including the shrine setting, demons and the "kitsune no yomeiri" or "fox's wedding" story and the the idea that a fox's wedding occurs during "sun showers", showers that happen on a sunny day.
-Character Dynamics-*will be posted on separate post*
-Context and Influences-The idea of my film originated from the influences that Japanese culture has had on me. I've always been interested in folktales and stories of myth, which has led to my decision to include Japanese influences in my film. Another interest is the idea of half human, half animal creatures. The majority of the fox characters will be these half human, half animal creatures. My story doesn't relate to any personal problems or people I know, but the storyline is a bit cliche in most parts. Most influences are from the Japanese comics and cartoons that I watch.
Visual Treatment-This animation will be animated and coloured in TVPaint, other programs that might be used include Photoshop, Paint Tool SAI and After Effects. The visual treatment for my story hasn't really been researched enough quite yet. For the colouring process, I plan on using a simple slightly painterly colouring method. Nothing overly complicated or too elaborate, I will take it as far as I can with the skill level of digital colouring I have. There won't be anything out of the ordinary regarding lines and shapes, everything will look as close to the actual object as possible, but perhaps with a slight cartoon-y feel to it. ex. a bush will look like a bush.
Visual Research and Support Materials-The visual research for this animation hasn't been researched enough yet. There are currently only some Japanese shrine settings and traditional clothing references found to help with setting and character designs. *images will be posted on separate post*
Sound Treatment-Again, the sound treatment hasn't been researched enough quite yet. I know I want music with a Japanese/Asian influence, to fit with the setting. I will try to find people to help with voice recording for the characters. For music and some sounds, I will try to find some people who are musically talented to help me composing something to go with the animation. If this fails, I will look for a composer. Because my main character is a trickster fox character, I want the voice to be light and playful and sound like someone around the ages of 18-25 yrs old and gradually become more mature,(26-40yrs old) yet still maintain the initial characteristics of a fox character. As for the main male character, I hope to be able to find a male voice that sounds gentle, patient that is mid-tone. Not to high/low. Because the rest of the characters are minor characters, voices that fit the age/feel of the character will be used.
Production Schedule-*will be on separate post*
Budget-There isn't an exact amount for the budget planned out yet. I plan on leaving enough money, perhaps ~$2000-$2500, for a new laptop/computer and other electronics should I find that I'm in need of them. I will need to do research on a reasonable amount to pay for certain things such as a composer if I choose to use one but I feel that ~$500-$700 will be enough and can be negotiated and adjusted accordingly. For posters/cds/name cards etc I will leave ~$200-$300.

-Possible electronics costs- $ 2500.00 -Money for possible composer- 700.00 -Advertising- 300.00 TOTAL- ---------------
$ 3500.00
Agreements-Any agreements that are necessary will be posted/included on this blog or in the animation.

ANIM321-Creative Development for Filmmaking Animation-New Idea

So, as I was working on my new animatic for this week, I came up with a new idea that I like more than what I currently have in mind. The decision to make this change came from the fact that no matter what I came up with, I wasn't satisfied with how it was going. That and the story still lacked an obstacle/goal that I had come up with myself.

Halfway through making my animatic I came up with this idea and have decided to stick with it.

Idea- fox= trickster/sly figure. It decides to play a trick on an unsuspecting groom.
-a Japanese style, human wedding takes place on a Japanese shrine that is guarded/inhabited by normal foxes and fox spirits/demons
-on the day of the wedding, the bride chickens out and decides to runaway, moments before entering the shrine
-a fox spirit notices and takes interest, decides to play a prank on groom by taking the place of the runaway bride for a few decades
-wedding goes off without a hitch
-life together is great, except for certain instances where the fox's true identity comes close to being revealed. ex. obsessive addiction to tofu products, tails/ears/claws popping out at random times
-one day the fox feels tired of the prank and having to keep up with the disguise, decides to runaway
-turns out hubby had figured out the fox's true identity a long time ago and still loves the fox
-hubby eventually finds the fox at her shrine, tells the fox his feelings
-the two reunite and have a new wedding, this time the fox is in her true form instead of the disguise
-wedding takes place on the fox's shrine and occurs during a sun shower (shower that happens on a sunny day)
-groom comments on the 'fox's wedding'
-happily ever after~

ANIM321-Animatic

So, here's my latest update. It's an animatic that displays my idea for my 4th year grad film. First thing I made using TVPaint. I'm liking it so far. Its currently not timed very well and is fast paced, I was more worried about getting it all in at this point. There's no sound yet. Unfortunately I can't seem to upload a video directly onto my post... the button to upload videos isn't there... so here's a link to the animatic. I will upload a video directly onto my blog if I figure out what the problem is, I believe it has something to do with the fact that I'm using the old blogger layout settings.

*EDIT* ended up making a vimeo account, hopefully the embed for the video I have placed works... *EDIT*

ANIM321-Creative Development for Filmmaking Animation-Animatic from Sandy Sou on Vimeo.

ANIM321-Creative Development for Filmmaking Animation-Dialogue Updates

Wheee... long time since the last post. It is official, I'm quite behind in the dialogue assignment. I've been prioritizing other assignments and fell behind...=.='' I'm currently learning TVPaint, I'm liking it so far though the interface is a bit confusing at this point. So far bits of the animation for the dialogue has been done, just need to finish animating and start colouring it.

On another note, I finally have an idea for my grad film. I was thinking of creating a story about the Japanese story of "kitsune no yomeiri" or in other words "the fox's wedding". The story will include the characters I created for the dialogue, along with some other minor characters that may make small appearances. I have created some drawings for character design and settings but will not be posting them yet. I have also included a link to wiki's definition of a fox wedding, in case more information is needed. Fox Wedding Wiki

My idea for the story was that the cat character I have created is playing and exploring the shrine grounds it lives on. Then a sun shower happens, which is sometimes considered a sign that a fox wedding is occurring, and the cat notices the fox spirit character and a few others enter the shrine house. The cat is curious about what she sees and follows the spirits inside to find herself transported to another realm after passing the door. There she witnesses the wedding between some of the higher level fox spirits.

ANIM321-Creative Development for Filmmaking Animation-Dialogue-Storyboard

I finally got around to editing and creating a storyboard that I'm somewhat satisfied with. Here it is.

ANIM321-Creative Development for Filmmaking Animation-Group Presentation

Was recently in a group for a presentation in ANIM321-filmmaking. In this assignment we had to work in groups to analyze a 1 minute scene from a movie/clip of our choice. My group included Thom, Edward and I. We chose to do the puppet animation music video "I Have Your Heart" by Crabapple, Boekbinder and Batt. We chose to analyze the scenes from 0:15-1:20.

Here's a link to the powerpoint that was made. A reverse storyboard will be added asap.
ANIM321-Group Presentation-IHYH

*EDIT*
Here are the links for the storyboard, and the videos we used.
Storyboard
Clip (0:15-1:20)
Youtube-I Have Your Heart

ANIM321-Creative Development for Filmmaking Animation-Dialogue Updates

So, I got around to recording the script I had posted in the previous update. So far it hasn't been placed together yet, just my voice reading the script using expressions I would like. I will eventually record another version with different people as the VAs. I'm also going to be posting things out of order. An animatic might be posted before the storyboard.. only because I keep on making changes to it and haven't gotten around to drawing out a complete one. It will mostly depend on what I get to first.

Also, if you haven't already noticed, I've added a "questions?//" box to the bottom-right hand side of my blog under the Blog Archive. Like it states, feel free to ask me anything I'll do my best to answer.

Here's the answer to a question I received today, I will occasionally post a question with my reply if I receive any:

Q: hai~ are you a cat in real life?
A: nope~ i just like to meow occasionally..

ANIM321-Creative Development for Animation Filmmaking-Dialogue Scripts

I realize that even though I know what's going on in my dialogue and it will most likely be shown on the storyboard, it's still best to have a written script down. So I have written a script that will most likely be used to in the dialogue assignment. This script has not been finalized yet. Any further changes will be mentioned/posted.

Dialogue Script:

Setting: On a Japanese Shrine.

Scene: Nyanko(cat) is playing, butterfly catches her attention and she starts to chase after it. Mitsu's (fox) curiosity get the better of her, she releases herself from her guardian fox statue form and soon joins Nyanko to play too.

* (Brackets)=actions, "Double Quotation Marks"=speech *

Nyanko:

(sees butterfly) "Hmm?"

(goes off to catch butterfly) "Meow! I'm going to catch you!"

"Come back, nya!~"

Mitsu:

(notices Nyanko, turns head to watch as she passes by) "Hey!"

Nyanko:

(looks back, with questioning look) "Huh?"

Mitsu:

"What are you doing?"

Nyanko:

"Playing, nya!~"

Mitsu:

"Ehhh~"

"Can I play too?"

Nyanko:

"Sure!"

Nyanko & Mitsu:

(sounds of laughter as both play together)

ANIM321-Creative Development for Animation Filmmaking-Character Design Changes

Lately, I've found that no matter how I revised my storyboard, I've been having one major issue. I'm not quite sure how to best include the idea of one of my character's forms changing from its animal form to humanoid form. In the end I came up with the solution of keeping one my characters, Nyanko, in its animal form for the entirety of the dialogue. The other character, Mitsu, will be able to change between its stone, animal, and humanoid form at will. I feel that with this change, the story will be easier to understand.

ANIM321-Creative Development for Animation Filmmaking-Dialogue-Character Designs

So, here is my latest update. This time I have posted some images of my initial designs and ideas for my characters, Nyanko(catgirl figure) and Mitsu(foxgirl figure). Sorry if the images aren't of good quality. I will add more images later on when there are changes or when designs are finalized.

Character #1-Nyanko

Character #2-Mitsu

ANIM321-Creative Development For Animation Filmmaking-Character Dialogue Project

So the first assignment for ANIM321 is a 15 second character dialogue assignment, where there is a stand-alone dialogue between 2 characters.

Lately I have been interested in stories regarding the Japanese gods, myths and historical figures. Due to this interest, a lot of my work and ideas have been centered on such themes. For this particular assignment, I plan on making it about 2 characters that live on an shrine in Japan dedicated to the god of foxes Inari. I won't go into much detail about the specifics of the god or culture, as I can go on for awhile so here is a link to a page that gives detailed information. I know.. it's wikipedia info.. but I thought it was quite accurate, so here it is~ Inari

As for the idea.. I had thought of making a dialogue about the lives of the characters that live on the shrine. Ideas for what the characters will look like will be in the next post. I think I put quite a bit of info on this particular post. Future posts will go in this order: character designs, storyboard, animatic and however many versions of the dialogue i create.

Info on the characters:

Character #1- Nyanko

Character #1 is female cat named Nyanko. She is a kitten that was found outside the shrine at a very young age and was taken in by a kind, old lady who is current caretaker and owner of the shrine. Nyanko appears to be very young in her humanoid form and is about 1 year old in cat years when seen in her cat form. In her humanoid form, Nyanko retains her cat ears and tail, but has a humanoid body instead of a cat body. She is often found dressed up in the traditional Japanese shrine priestess outfit.

She currently lives at a Japanese Shinto shrine with the old lady, otherwise known as Grandma, and is friends with the shrine fox demon/herald, Mitsu. Nyanko is the shrine's mascot and is the self-proclaimed guardian of the shrine. She wishes to live a happy, comfortable life, while guarding the shrine from harm.

Nyanko isn't really any different from other cats. She is highly curious and especially loves play with yarn/string. She also likes to pounce and swat at anything that catches her attention, though she gets easily distracted at times. Nyanko absolutely detests water unless its for drinking. Nyanko is quite smart but she has her occasional dumb moments. She gets the majority of her knowledge from what she sees and hears. Her special talents include climbing trees, walking along fences,and catching rodents/birds. These special skills of hers have helped her immensely during her daily patrols around her territory, which includes the inside and outside of the shrine grounds. Nyanko has a habit of adding a 'nya/meowing' suffix to the end of her sentences and has a huge weakness for catnip and fish.

Character #2- Mitsu

Character #2 is the female fox demon/herald of the Inari shrine, Mitsu. She is about 400 years old though like Nyanko, she too appears very young. In her humanoid form, Mitsu retains her fox ears and tail, while having a humanoid body. She wears a more fancier version of a priestess outfit and has a fox mask tied to the left side of her head. When not in her humanoid form, Mitsu is often performing her duties as the guarding of the shrine as a stone fox statue along with her partner. Mitsu uses her fox magic to transform between her humanoid form and fox form. When not in either of those forms she reverts back into her stone form and stays dormant, watching the daily happenings of the shrine. She also has a lot of other tricks such as the fox fire. Before becoming a demon/herald of the shrine, Mitsu was a normal red fox kit that had died in a tragic accident. Not much is known about her unless she herself reveals the information or it is spilled out by fellow herald colleagues.

Mitsu duty is to be one of its guardians and act as the herald and messenger of the shrine between the human, spirit and god world. She takes her job very seriously but often cannot resist in pulling pranks on those around her. Mitsu currently has 1 tail and hopes to gain 9 tails to achieve the greatest powers and unlock her full potential as a fox demon/herald. Because of the level of her strength Mitsu's magic and pranks often goes wrong, which is another reason why she wishes to gain more of her tails. Her life's goal/ambition is to trick and prank as many people as possible, mostly because its amuses her and it is just in her nature as one of the trickster animals in the Japanese culture. She also wishes to live a carefree lifestyle.

Mitsu loves to eat fried, sliced tofu (aburage) and any other related dishes. In fact, she is a closet fried tofu freak, which makes fried tofu one of her known weaknesses, which often result in her being bribed/conned into doing things for others. Mitsu is smart and very cunning but she acts very childish at times. She has gained her wisdom from her experience in serving the Inari shrine and god over the many years.

Although Mitsu is best at being the typical Japanese stereotypical trickster fox, she is also adept at performing divinations, traditional dances and rituals, will-o-wisps and magic (foxfire). Though when things go wrong, she tends to panic a bit.

First Post

Hi everyone! This blog was created so that future animation and other artistic assignments, projects and ideas can be posted for online viewing. The blog isn't much yet but there will be updates soon. Enjoy!