Thesis: The 20 Week Plan

Most of my posts about my thesis have been about the overarching project as a whole. Here I would like to breakdown my plan for thesis class which consists of 20 weeks. Initially, I had intended to create the storyboard and animatic of the entire project, but I worry these may get in the way of the focus of the in class project, the characters. In the first 10 week section of the thesis, I want to focus primarily on the character that will be the protagonist of the film. My next post will be my inspirations for his design, color pallets, and possibly some of my own sketches. Once his design reaches completion, I will model, texture, and rig this character. I'll be putting a large amount of focus on his skin, hair, clothing, and facial rig.

I want this character to display an extreme amount of production quality, the type of quality shown from the larger production studios. The skin will use sub-surface scattering to help create the softness desired. The hair should look and move in a visually pleasing and realistic manner, even if it is a stylized or exaggerated realism. The clothing should also move fluidly and realistically as it hangs of the characters body. It will have to move with him as he twists and bends in different ways. Finally, the rig. I will be putting a huge amount of effort in developing/finding an effective, easy to use facial rig that lends itself to easily develop many varied expressions. Because so much of the film relies on the main characters expressions, this rig will be vital.

Hopefully I will be able to accomplish most of my goals for the main character in the first 10-14 weeks. If I am able to complete him within the 10 weeks, I can use the remaining time work on the remaining characters. Once I refine the techniques used on the main character, I will be able to implement them more rapidly on the remaining characters.