I have done a test using my dog character against one of the backgrounds to see how it looks! I am pleased with the result and will be ready to create my moving animatic soon.

I've managed to re-create the original style that i designed and have began working on the final backgrounds.

i am still developing my aesthetic so that my layout will look the same as my original design for a background! I am finding it difficult to replicate the original street scene design that was my initial aesthetic as it is very stylised and i created it using a specific drawing style then filter in photoshop.

This is a mock up of how my final aesthetic will look with the character as well. Iam still experimenting with different styles which i havn't quite refined yet.

This is my refined storyboard with a few changes which i will use to make my moving animatic. I will then put the backgrounds in behind to see how the final aesthetic will look.

A couple of colour options for my stan character to see which suits him best.

I've been drawing out and experimenting with my backgrounds trying to refine the final aesthetic.

colour development for my male character Stan, produced in photoshop.

This is my updated second animatic with the changes i've made and improvements.

This is a dimesions character sheet to see how the characters look in comparison to each other so that when I animate I can refer back and make sure they stay the same.

These are some poses of stan in some of the key positions from the story.

from the male designs I have decided to go for the long lanky body shape with the rain drop shaped head, which contrasts to the dogs small and blobish shape.

These are design ideas for the male character 'Stan'. I have experimented with a few selected body shapes to see how they look etc...

Dog colourization and design!

These are the drawn changes and improvements to my storyboard which i will add to my animatic for the next showing. It gives a more visual and satisfying visual to the scene, as different from the previous, it shows the man actually making the dog house.

this is my first animatic showing all my story and shots. the soundtrack is taken from the new pixar film up as a temporary place holder. Adam has given me feed back on aspects to change, the scene when he makes the dog house and the shot near the end when the man reacts to the house collapsing.

Here are some initial designs for my male character. i like the shape of his head but am still working on the body.

i think he is a strong character and feel he will work well with the other design aspects.



i have been designing the dog character and have come up with a design straight away that i like. i havn't started to develop my male character as much yet but will do very soon. Here are some drawn poses of my dog character.

I have applied a similar colour pallete to my designs as seen in the ed, edd and eddy cartoons as i really like the style and feel the shades compliment each other.



I have started to mess around with interiors and exteriors trying to find a balance.



I first started by changing the oppacity to get a thick black line from the drawing i had done. Using photoshop i applied a few brush styles to see what i could come up with.



From the last post i then scanned the images into photoshop to see how i could further develop them into something interesting and exciting, taking influence from the previous animation styles and ideas.

I have been drawing out a series of initial designs to develop into backgrounds and my final aesthetic from the influeces i have looked at already. From these quick sketches i hope to form an interesting but unique aesthetic for my film which will enhance the story.

These are new ideas and updates to my storyboard since the last development.

Recently i have been looking at and influenced by the cartoon network style of animation. Especially the cartoon ed, edd and eddy as i feel this style would work very well with my story and ideas. Using this style as a starting point i am going to play around and try and forge an aesthetic of my own.

Some character designs and background sketches. Testing different styles and colours.

This is my first storyboard to outline my story.

My initial film idea is:

A man walking down the street,a bit down on his luck, sees an extremely cute puppy in a pet shop window. He buys it because he thinks it is adorable, not knowing the implication of his purchase, and takes it home.

We see an extremely tidy and clean house. The man takes the dog into his house and leaves it in his living room while he fetches it a bowl of water. He comes back and the dog has chewed up the mans slippers. The man gets angry and upsets the dog, the dog then wets itself which inturn makes the man angrier. The man then has an idea to build the dog a dog house.

(Montage style) We see the man contsructing all the elements of the dog house in his garden. When finished the dog house looks really bad and unsafe. He tells the dog to go in but the dog does't want to. The man forces the dog into the dog house. The man goes back inside looking very proud of himself and leaves the dog in the dog house.

The man closes the door behind him to notice some paw prints leading from the kitchen into the living room. He sees the dog rolling around on his furniture, getting mud and hair everywhere. The man flips in anger and grabs the dog by the scruff of the neck. He throws it back outside into the dog house and stomps back inside slamming the door behind him.

He goes to the sink to clean up, turning the tap on. waiting for the sink to fill he hears a little bark behind him. The dog is sitting behind him wagging his tail. The man finally snaps and chases the dog to try and get it out. The dog thinks its a game and continues to run. The chase lasts a few minutes (seconds in screen time) and he finally catches the dog.
The dog realises its not a game and wets itself again. The man then realises he left the tap on. he drops the dog and goes to the kitchen. The door is bulging under the water pressure. The door then explodes taking the man with it.

The man is dizzy. He looks up shocked and bemused to see his wrecked living room and the dog standing in the door way. A crack then forms up the wall. The house caves in on top of the dog.
The man looks shocked then sad.
He goes to the pile of rubble and starts to cry, realising what hes lost. He sees the dog house through the kitchen and walks over to it. He crawls inside and sobs.
After a while we hear another bark and the dog has re-appeared unharmed. The man smiles and the dog runs and licks his face. The end.

Been looking at some fantastic shots from who framed Roger Rabbit to get some ideas for layout and storyboarding purposes. we see the wide extension of the background to enhance the movement.



The long angles are fantastic for extending the shot and really exagerating the motion of the character. I really like the idea of using a camera shot in this way in my final film.

Looking at colour and backgrounds I like the Disney Lilo and Stitch style. It is soft yet powerful. The detail is amazing as every aspect has been carefully hand painted. You can see that a lot of time and skill has gone into it and the end result is flawless. It almost reminds me of an illustration from a childs book.

Here are some more inspirational animations that I have been looking at for aesthetic ideas.

I find Micheal Dudoc Du Wits work fascinating as he uses a minimalist style which I feel enhances his animation and story.



Images like the above by Gary Larson are very inspirational when looking at my story idea and style. I like that interior house style as it is simple but works very well.

I am influenced by animations and images that I remember or that inspire me to be creative. Bill plymptons work does this for me as I love his style and think he manages to entertain his audience we humourous content. I would love to use his style to work upon my own designs.




I have been looking at animations, illustrations and general things that inspire me for this project. I really love the Simon's cat series by Simon Tofield, and find his styles interesting,really simple but absolutely brilliant. I like the idea of simple line animation to enhance the characters personalities. The use of no colour means that audiences aren't distracted away for the animation and concentrate more on whats happening.

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