EP: Environment Mood Boards with James

As James and I were working together to create the environments for my animation, we decided that it would be beneficial to also create the mood boards together, so we knew that we were both on the same wave length and it would also allow James to set boundaries on what could be achievable for him to make and what wouldn't. Reading through the script we found that we would need to create a minimum of 7 platforms that each contained a separate element of the world, and each of these platforms would contain key aspects of the story.

Caves

Cabins

We started with caves, as James feels that this will be the toughest element of the world for him to create. James discussed what he could do and stated that we could go low poly or more realistic, however, low poly would save time and may work better with 2D animation over the top. With this in mind we researched real caves and those that have already been created in Maya to get an idea of what we can achieve and the different kind of aesthetics that we could explore. We then did the same for cabins.

Whilst James was looking more at the shape and elements within each of the assets, I was focusing more on atmosphere and mood. I want the atmosphere of the environment to reflect the story and the situation at the time, so lighting and colours are going to play a huge role within the environment design. With this in mind, I researched specific settings, particularly within the cabin scene, as I wanted to be clear on what kind of lighting James would need to use.

Overall, I feel that we have a good selection of work to influence us and I am confident that we are both on the same wavelength and have the same idea of what needs to be achieved.