Process Blitz-Story Goals

May I introduce "Spectacle", the short story concept I'll be developing during the Process Blitz. Any comments or critiques are welcome.

Objectives
1-Theme in 3 words: Prejudice, Wonder, Friendship
2-Synopsis in 1 sentence: An eager boy, although blinded by others prejudices, finds an unexpected friend in a traveling circus.
Synopsis in 3 sentences: Curious boys await the arrival of circus oddities. A frenzy of fear and prejuduce leaves one boy blind to the dazzling show. A peculiar friend help the boy see clearer than ever.
Synopsis in 3 paragraphs: When a circus poster appears in a 1880's town, curiosity runs wild in the imagination of 4 young boys. Each conjures up a fearsome and fabulous spectacle. Fables and fabrications about the circus beasts feed the curiosity of one boy and plant seeds of prejudices in the other boys. Interest circles around Jumbo, a bizarre mammoth creature that Barnum & Bailey are debuting. A twisted curiosity draws the boys to the show.

At the show the boys both jeer and cheer extraordinary feats, modern technologies. As Jumbo is announced reactions ripple through the crowd, in the commotion one of the boy's glasses falls into the performing ring. The boy is left blind as Jumbo emerges to a mixed chorus of cheers, screams, jeers, and applause.

Straining to see and trying to gauge the crowd, the boy is frozen with fear when a trumpeting blast sounds next to him. Apprehension settles when the glasses are delivered in the trunk of an elephant. The boy sees past the odd exterior to the gentle giant's heart. He utters his amazement and embraces the trunk. End

3-Primary Characters: Boy, Jumbo, Friends (representing Fear, Ignorance, & Disgust). Secondary Character: Ringmaster
4-Character Map:

Process Blitz:Story

Aloha & welcome to The Process Blitz where I'll be tackling a short story from concept to content in 30 days. I'll be sharing my own goals, process, resources, and insights for preparing material that is "pitch ready" for a animated short film/picture book.

Establishing appropriate material for short story formats where brevity and clarity are vital is real work. Each word & second is valuable; every moment should further the theme and progress the narrative. The primary rule is K.I.S.S. or Keep it simple stupid! Some ideas are not suited to become short stories; Lord of the Rings for example, with its weaving multi-character plots and world spanning travels could never be crammed into a 32pg picture book or a 5 minute movie.

A good short story must have 1 or 2 central characters that the audience relates to, a problem, and a solution that tells us more about the central character(s). The problem and it's solution help make up the story's theme or central message. All other characters, settings, and events should support the theme and enhance the telling of the story.

Eliminating other issues helps clarify the theme and focus a viewer's attention to the important. This means that many great ideas will end-up on the chopping block; it's OK. Those unused ideas may be seeds for other wonderful projects.

The following goals will help refine the direction of a story and create a solid framework for the rest of the development.

Goals:
Timeline (3 days)
1-Establish the theme in 3 words (adjectives, emotions)
2-Synopsis of plot in 1 sentence, 3 sentences, 3 paragraphs (subject, problem, soution. Consider visually based actions that support theme)
3-Establish principle characters (If more than 5, consider simplifying)
4-Develop character map (motives & relationships, obstacles & solutions)

Resources for writing short films or picture books (please send me your favorites as well):
www.johnaugust.com
(Index card method) (Writing a scene) (How I Write Series: Jessica Bendinger)

www.bethanyroberts.com
(Picture Book Writing Tips)

www.write101.com
(Writing for Children's Books) (plotting for children's books)

johnkstuff.blogspot.com
Writing for Cartoons Series (Dialogue 1& 2)

The Purple Crayon (picture book writing resources)

Process Blitz starting Feb 15th

How do I take the great idea that's been sitting in my brain and get it out onto the paper/screen?

How can I balance personal projects I'd love to do with the insanity of everyday life (I have 3 kids, work full time, and I am in the middle of moving while learning Maya with Animation Mentor)?

The Process Blitz which begins Feb 15th will outline and present the process of developing a story & characters in 30 days to make it "pitch ready". I'll chronicle the process of developing one of my own ideas with pics, resources, links and words of wisdom from others who have made it happen.

What are your ideas that are aching to get out? Bring your own ideas to the table and together we'll develop them in 30 days starting on the 15th.

Feed Me!

Hey folks, here's a sketch I had some fun with today. I wanted to bring in more gesture and pose emphasis than my usual stuff.

Here are a few folks I admire for their ability to capture in gesture story, character emotion, & intent right as the pen hits the paper.
http://drawger.com/stevebrodner/
http://pascalcampion.blogspot.com/
http://haraldsiepermann.blogspot.com/
http://www.peterdeseve.com/

Gorgeous isn't it! Miles to go before I sleep, and miles to go before I sleep.

I'll post some more finished work soon.

Sketchbook-Hatching new ideas daily

I have a bunch of resolutions that respond to some great feedback from friends, and piers at CTN animation Expo. I feel like I'm setting New Year resolutions too early, but I've got no time to waste. I'm hatching a few goals here for the record.
1) Quality weekly posting on the blog
2) Daily purposeful sketching
3) Two new portfolio pieces per month (some may be client work, but I'll post what I can
4) Finish the color script for my Jumbo production my February
5) Finalize charater designs for Jumbo and share the process.

What are you working on?

Here's a sketch from my book: I love the patterns and rhythms in nature.

Here comes CTN-X!

I'm marching off to California this weekend for the first Creative Talent Network Expo in Burbank. It hosts some intense talent and amazing opportunities for all skill levels and interests in the animation industry.

What makes me go? I'll be introducing myself to the industry center, I want to find out where I can strengthen my skills and respond to portfolio criticisms and challenges from piers. I'm also going to meet my idols as people not bloggers.

There's a lot to be said about developing specialized skills to make the pipeline as productive as possible. I'm not sure where my skills are pointing me so I'm exploring options at CTN-X too.

Character Design with Chris Oatley

Aloha, this week I had a blast recording a podcast episode with DTS artist Chris Oatley of Chris Oatley's Artcast. If you haven't checked out his show... shame on you, . We talked shop about continuing artistic development, networking strategies for the entertainment industry, and character development technique. I'm constantly learning from the great talents everywhere, here are some things I picked up recently. Feel free to leave your own criticisms and suggestions.

I started developing some sketches for a Sci-Fi concept. Chris took one look and sent me to a great resource The Skillfull Huntsman, the book that takes a Grimm Bros Fairytale through early concept development as if it were a real production. Here's my first sketch (1.25hrs) and some areas that instantly stood out for improvement after picking up the book.

I wanted to try some of the exercises mentioned in the book. Here are a couple of the principles The Skillfull Huntsman put forward:

Compare Apples to Apples-Using the same basic pose and create various designs varing scale, pattern, positive and negative space, etc. Here are a two of mine using one pose.
A good silhouette holds endless possibilities-After I was satisfied with the outline of a character, I try to see the different possibilities within the one form. By imagining a different place, time, gender, technology, etc. I came up with these two drastically different characters, each one has a different story & personality. What character do you see?

Did you know Luke Skywalker started out as a girl in Ralph McQuarrie's drawings and evolved into the character we know today. The initial design process is to mine the creative depths of an concept; establish a strong appropriate silhouette and build from there. Avoid jumping to the details like I did in my first drawing.

Check out these great character designers- Awesome forms. Joe Olson, Nicolas Marlet (Kungfu Panda), and Peter de Seve
More to come as I explore this world and other projects.