Steampunk Myths and Legends Entry: Charles Reid

#1

Charles Reid is entered in the “Steampunk Myths and Legends” update: View Challenge Page

Latest Update: Finished Video: Puss and his Mechanical Boots

#2

Play Video >>

Here are some storyboards (with music) for an animation I am thinking about. It will be mostly limited animation with real stylized look&feel. Comments and suggestions are always welcome

#3

Cool! Good story board - only few last shoots are to fast and i dont see what happend - but in overall very nice - espetially begining.
For sure you have a lot to do… wish you good luck.

#4

Here is the first shot of the animation. This is the look and feel I am thinking about going with. I think I like where this is headed… I am still thinking about those black particles in the sky though. I think they add interest but I am not completely convinced.

Yes, this whole thing will be a lot of work… no promises on finishing it. Though I have a pretty good track record with finishing things I start. (fingers crossed though)

#5

Hi there! I like your stylistic, it’s totally new and unique. I think you should stay with it, it has artistic potencial. I hope you will manage to finish it on time

good luck

#6

love the music and the the emotions that came through in some of the storyboard shots. Looking forward to seeing you capture the same feel in the final animation
good luck!

#7

#8

Here is what I have so far. This is somewhere in the neighborhood of a third or more of the animation. Some of these shots are more finished than others as you’ll see.

Play Video >>

#9

Here is my next update. I am about half done (or a little more) with this animation. There are a couple of spots I am not thrilled with (like when puss is flying) but all in all I think it is looking pretty good. Feedback is welcome.

Play Video >>

#10

Nice :slight_smile: The hero shot of the cat looks great!

#11

Very nice work. Only thing i find confusing is the placement of the shot of the flying cat and the short afterwards of welding en making the boots. In that last shot the cat’s face is hidden like it has a meaning. But you already know it’s a cat. So mybe a little different sequence of order could work a little better.

cheers

#12

That’s an interesting thought about the welding shot. I hid his face because I thought he would have to shield it from the welding torch. But it does seem like it is supposed to by mysterious. I am not sure how I would arrange the shots though … I could do the welding stuff before the “hero” shot though I am not sure if that would work with the music. I will have to try messing around with the order. (though I may wait until more of it is finished)

I am shooting for a 60sec piece. Are we supposed to submit a 30sec and only something longer if cgtalk.com requests it? Does anyone know the specifics? The rules seem a bit vague. I am also unsure of the “90 sec making of material” thing. What’s up with that?

#13

So here’s another update. I am pretty happy with it… not loving the king so much though. (but not sure I want to bother redoing him).

I am going to edit this and swap some sequences around. I also need to figure out something for the 30sec version. Any clarification anyone can give me on the different versions we need to submit (as well as WHEN we submit them) would be appreciated.

Play Video >>

#14

Nice style,nice shots! I m happy that I m not the only one with 2D. Best to you!

#15

Thanks. Yeah I have noticed a severe lack of 2D animation on this site. I am a bit surprised… though I suppose most people think of 2D animation as a dying art form in a lot of ways. I love it though. It is a shame more people don’t use 2D in some way… at least in support of 3D.

#16

Software: After Effects,Flash,Photoshop

Puss in Boots was one of my favorite stories growing up. I loved how clever the cat was and how he could accomplish the seemingly impossible so easily. I thought it would be a great fit in the Steampunk CGChallenge.

Basically the story starts with the youngest of three miller sons being left with nothing but a cat when his father dies. The cat tells the son that he will be rich if only he gives the cat a bag and some boots. The cat, now called Puss-in-Boots, uses the bag to catch some game birds and brings them to the king as an offering from his master. Puss-in-Boots tricks the king through a series of events into believing that his master is not a poor peasant but the “Marquis de Carabas”. Eventually Puss-in-Boots confronts a shape-changing ogre who owns a massive mansion and rules vast stretches of land. Puss-in-Boots challenges the ogre to change into a mouse, whereupon Puss-in-Boots eats him securing the mansion and expansive lands for his master.

The boots seemed the natural element to transform into metal and gears. In this rendition the boots are capable of extraordinary things including giving him the ability to fly. The shape-shifting giant at the end of the tale was also a fun character to explore using the Steampunk angle. I tried to give this new Puss in Boots a face lift of sorts but still keep the same spirit of the original.

In a era crazy about 3D animation, I still enjoy 2D very much. I like how handmade and personal it feels. I chose to go mostly with limited animation relying on a heavily stylized look to anchor the piece. Textures and particles were used throughout to give a graphically rich result. Production was pretty straightforward. Scenes began in Flash and then moved on to be composited in After Effects adding numerous effects and Photoshop layers. Overall the project took me about two months to complete. I hope you like it.

Play Video >>

#17

hi mr. reid.
i totally get your 2d philosophy. I am very much a 2d guy my self. It is just a very defficult medium to handle. I think it is very brave and daring of you to get out on the 2d fields. And your final product turned out quite nicely.
I’m not very fond of the typical “flash animation” animation. Hereby i mean the way flash literally destroys timing and spacing, if one let the program do too much. I have learned over the years that this can easily be worked around by not using tween, or maybe only use tween for simple camera control or background animation. The more tween, the less life characters will get, mostly because the audience doesnt get a chance to “decide” for them selves what the characters are feeling/doing.
I like the settings and the mood, ofcourse the skies are awesome. Great job on the compositing part as well.

thumps up. Especially for you curage. :beer:

(that beer emoticon are being used alot these couple of days huh?)

#18

2D is challenging in a lot of ways… but in some ways it is easier I think. You do not have to mess with any set up or rigging. You can just dive in. And yes flash animation can be tricky to make look good, and I struggle with that all of the time. However I would say that there is a lot of 3D character animation out there that is very stiff and lifeless. So I think there is good and bad on both sides. Thanks again for your comments. Here are some beer icons for you. :beer:

#19

i completly agree. i might even say that there is alot worse looking 3d stuff than 2d stuff in feature films and short films.
If 2D is being used it is because of a true dedication. You dont just make 2d out of thin air. Now 3D has over the years become more and more accesable, and in some cases it really looks like it is just grapped out of thin air.

there is ups and downs on both.

cheers :thumbsup:

#20

Hey Charles,

Congratulations on finishing your piece! It’s nice to see another entry that utilizes 2d animation (I think there are only 1 or 2 others that do). I like your take on the Puss n Boots story, and think the way you conveyed it in your animation is very appealing, as if it were an animated children’s book. Almost makes me wish the fairytales I read as a child were steampunk-themed as well :wink:

Good luck! :beer: