Adaptation B: Reflective Statement

As a result of the final crit for Adaptation B, I feel like I have received reasonable feedback regarding both my work ethic for this project and the quality of Ludlow's final model. I have known for some time that I need to change my process for working and how I go about it. I need to start producing work at a constant rate and publish what I do regularly. As well as this I also need to stop putting things on the back burner and I need to work faster in order to have extra time to deal with any issues or feedback given by members of staff and peers on the course. I know that I have the talent to create characters but my attitude towards work affects my abilities to perform well on various projects. I need to be proud of my skillset and apply it to my work instead of shying away because I feel like I lack the ability to do it.

This behaviour of "Oh I'll do that tomorrow/next week/next month" needs to stop, it won't getting me any closer to doing what i want to do on the course and out of the course if i continue this train of thought. I discovered late in the project, that the progress I was making increase when I did work on campus and setting up a space at home that was quiet and didn't have any distractions. This helped me in not losing focus and by keeping that time managed with strict break schedules to avoid procrastination. As well as that, I feel like I was more willing to ask for help when I needed it, asking tutors and other students as well as trying to figure problems out on my own. I feel more confident in asking for help when I need it, something that for years I've struggled with as well as showing work in general, which I still need to work on.

Adaptation B: The Black Book of Secrets Presentation

The Black Book of Secrets Presentation by Katie Lima on Scribd

Adaptation B:Texturing and Rigging

Fig 1: Ludlow's Head with UV mapping 

Fig 2: Ludlow's Body with UV Mapping

Fig 3: Ludlow textured without his scarf

Fig 4: Ludlow textured with his scarf

Fig 5: Ludlows Rig

There have been so many ups and downs modelling Ludlow, while UVing went quite well, Rigging (especially Weighting the model to the rig) had been an absolute nightmare, it was mostly on my part however forgetting some parts and trying to figure out what to do with the scarf - as I wanted it to be that while the scarf was connected to the rest of the model it wasn't weighted at all - was tough. After six tries and most of the day gone I finally weighted the model to an ok standard, it does its job which is all I can ask for after spending so long on it.
Maya on my home computers in general are very picky with me, one won't allow me to install mental ray and the other one throws a fit over batch rendering to the point that it closes the program down altogether. I'd have to restart the program again on both macs to see is resetting back to default can help in some way.

Adaptation B: Ludlow Colour Composition

Fig 1: Ludlow Colour Comps

Here are some colour compositions for Ludlow, keeping with the description presented in the book I kept his shirt grey. Also I wanted the gloves and scarf to be a different colour scheme to the rest of his clothing due to the fact that they were stolen and originally belonged to a rich man so i implemented richer colours to show that.

Adaptation B: Modelling Process

Fig 1: Ludlow's Head

Fig 2: Ludlow's Body

I am almost at the stage where all of the pieces have been modelled now apart from ludlow's stolen scarf and his hair. Some aspects of his face had to be changed to suit 3D for example his eyes as I had to divert from the orthograph to allow the model to have eyelids. I might also need to go in with the relax tool again in certain areas and fiddle with the eyebrows some more so that they fit with the head better.

Adaptation B: Ludlow- Orthographs

Fig 1: Ludlow Side and Front Head Orthographs

Fig 2: Ludlow Body Orthographs without scarf

Fig 3: Ludlow Body Orthographs with scarf

Adaptation B: Ludlow Final Character Concept

Based on the feedback from both the style concepts and from the pitch I decided to go into further development into the version 3 of Ludlow. From here I would then start to break down the character to see how different expressions would look, the clothes he wears and how he would act before finally modelling him in 3D in Maya

Adaptation B: Pitch

Adaptation B Pitch by Katie Lima on Scribd

Adaptation B: Pawnbroker Exterior Layout Thumbnails

Fig 1: Layout Thumbnails for the Exterior

Here are a few thumbnail ideas i drew for the layout of the exterior of the pawnbrokers that Ludlow and Joe work at, I wanted to fit with the idea that its a building built on a hill so its foundations are at an angle and I also wanted to portray the building as rather short due to the shortage of wood as referenced in the book while describing the town. These are not the final concepts for the outside of the shop, only layout references that I would then work further on to suit the style of the characters and to help with understanding the interior too.

Adaptation B: Style Concept for Ludlow and Joe

Fig 1: Concepts of styles for Ludlow

Fig 2: Concepts of styles for Joe

Some digital concepts of style ideas for the two characters varying from somewhat realistic to a more cartoon style. Basing the general attributes of the characters from their descriptions in the book as well as using influences like otters for Ludlow's head and face shape in one of the designs.

Adaptation B: Character Concept: Ludlow and Joe

Fig 1: Ludlow

Fig 2 and 3: Joe 

Fig 4 and 5: Ludlow and Joe

Fig 6: Ludlow and Joe

When I was going through designs for the two characters I tried to give them as much opposition while also correlating with the books original description. Ludlow is a pick-pocket from the city so giving him long slender fingers was a common element in his designs, as well as this the books continues to describe him as having wild eyes with an intense glare to them so some of the concepts play up to that but giving him larger eyes. 

Joe, on the other hand, is an older man with an emotionless face, a tall and lanky body and hair that has no set structure to it, overall the description of Joe was very descriptive although I was playing with the fact that because of his height things like his trousers wouldn't be fitted as right as it should.

Overall I feel as though while I am making progress in the character designs that I need to focus on making the two designs for them marry together to make it plausible that they both live in the same world and also make it so that the design is to a standard that I feel comfortable modelling them in 3D in.

Adaptation B: Casting Call- Ludlow Fitch and Joe Zabbidou

Fig 1: Ludlow Fitch

Fig 2: Joe Zabbidou

Here are a series of actors that I envision would play the characters of Ludlow and Joe from The Black Book of Secrets. The main goal of this exercise was to find people that fitted with the character descriptions of the two characters. This is to help in envisioning a clearer understand of how I want my character designs for the two to be using the characteristics of these actors and director. The general aspects that I looked for when casting the two characters, was piercing eyes, a youthful face and a slim figure for Ludlow and wild hair, a tall and serious older looking man who fitted the mentor role that Joe provides to Ludlow. The ages of the characters are not specified in the book but Ludlow is a boy in his teens while Joe is anything 40 and above as deducted from the description of him in the book of having greying hair.

Adaptation B: Tree Frog Studies

Fig 1: Pencil Drawings of Tree Frogs

Fig 2: Fineliner Drawing of a Tree Frog

I drew these as Joe's pet Saluki is a tree frog, specifically a Poison Dart Tree Frog. I hadn't had much practise with drawing these animals before so I used a selection of images of different tree frogs to try and figure out the anatomy of the creature.

Adaptation B: Environment Research

Pagus Parvus:

• "The village dated from times when people were at least six inches shorter and all dwelling were built accordingly." "- that doors and windows were made narrower than was usual and ceilings were particularly low"- Chapter 3 Page 11

• "It was a small village clinging for its life to the side of a steep mountain in a country-" "-It comprised one cobbled high street lined on either side with a mixture of houses and shops built in the style that was popular around the time of the great fire in the famous city of London. The first and second floors/ overhung the pavement. In fact, sometimes the upper levels  stick up so far out that they restricted the sunlight. The windows themselves were small with leaded panes, and timbers ran in parallel lines on the outside walls. The buildings were all at strange and rather worrying angles, each having slid slightly down the hill over the years and sunk a little into the earth."- Chapter 6 Page 27

• ";Pagus Parvus existed in a grey light that was cast by clouds that never seemed to go away,"- Chapter 16 Page 89

• "Sitting as it was on the exposed side of a mountain, covered in snow eight months out if twelve and rained on the other four, Pagus Parvus was not popular with  outsiders..."- Chapter 16 Page 89

Pawnbrooker:

• "The shop itself was quite tiny. The distance between the display window and the counter was no more then three paces. Joe went behind the counter and opened the solid door that led into a back room. A tiny window on the far wall allowed the dusty-moon-glow to lighten the gloom. The furniture was sparse and worn: two ladderback chairs and a table, a small stove and a narrow bed pushed up against the wall. In contrast the fireplace was huge. At least six feet across and nearly three deep, it took up almost the whole of one wall. On either side of the hearth sat a faded upholstered armchair. It was not much but it would do."- Chapter 3 Page 13

• "- I took the opportunity to examine the goods in the shop window. the jewellery was bright and pretty, the hurricane lamp was polished and looked in working order. The timepieces were wound and ticking."- Chapter 10 Page 51

• "He fixed to the pole the universal symbol of the pawnbroker: three polished golden orbs stuck together in the shape of a triangle."- Exterior, Chapter 6 Page 30

• "- Joe's display benefited from the addition of a flower vase in the Grecian style, a pair of leather braces with silver clips (one missing), a sturdy pair of scuffed boots (only slightly down at heel), and a set of decorative brass buttons. The chamber pot sat in the corner next to the wooden leg."- Chapter 14 Page 79

• "... Joe took everything he was offered, even the most ridiculous and worthless items- a moth eaten, slightly mouldy stuffed cat being one such example- and paid good money as he promised"- Chapter 15 Page 86

• "As most customers came in wheezing after climbing the hill, Joe instructed that a chair be set by the door and it was gratefully received." -Chapter 15 Page 87

Adaptation B: Character Research

Ludlow Flitch:

• "He truly was a pale and sorry figure, undersized, undernourished and shivering so hard you could almost hear his bones rattle. His eyes were striking though, dark green with specks of yellow, set in a ring of shadow. His skin matched the snow in tone and temperature"- Page 15

• "I took the opportunity to jump down and sneak a look in the cab, wherein I found a leather purse, fringed printed silk scarf and a pair of gloves. I wrapped the scarf around my neck and slipped the gloves over my numb fingers. The purse contained only a few pennies but it was a start."- Chapter 2, Page 8

• "As for the boy, his skinny, short-legged attendant who went him everywhere (Joe Zabbidou),he seemed a sly little demon. He wore gloves that looked suspiciously like his own, the ones Jeremiah was certain the coach driver had stolen. And those big dark eyes. Jeremiah had never once managed to hold Ludlows gaze. He always had to look away."-Chapter 19, Page 121

• "'I can run fast and curl up so tight I can hide in the smallest places'" -Chapter 4, Page 17

• "Ma suggested that I be sold to a chimney sweep. My skinny frame more than suited to the narrow, angled chimneys,"- Chapter 10 Page 49

• Wore a grey shirt- Chapter 4, Page 17

• "He resembled so many City boys, dirty and skinny. He certainly smelt like one. His clothes were barely functional (apart from the scarf and gloves which were of much higher quality) and he had a distrustful face that gave away the wretchedness of his past existence. His was bruised and his mouth was very swollen, but there was a spark of intelligence - and something else - in those dark eyes" Chapter 4 page 19

• Has all of his teeth- reason he escaped to Pagus Parvus was because his parents wanted to rip out his teeth to sell them to the rich for booze money-Established in Chapter 1

• Suffers from Travel Sickness- Chapter 2, page 7

• Pickpocket- Established in Chapter 1

• "Ludlow wondered idly if any had a pocket worth picking"- Chapter 6 Page 33

• "Ludlow was always a few steps behind, no higher than Joe's elbow, trotting to keep up"- Chapter 17 Page 97

Joe Zabbidou:

• "It was not easy to describe Joe Zabbidou accurately. His age was impossible to determine. He was neither stout nor thin, but perhaps narrow. And he was tall, which was a disadvantaged in Pagus Parvus." Chapter 3, Page 11

• "Joe was dressed suitably for the weather, though unheedful of the current fashion for the high-collared coat. Instead he wore a cloak of muted green, fastened with silver toggles, that fell to his ankles. The cloak itself was of the finest Jocastar wool." Chapter 3, Page 12

• "On his feet Joe wore a pair of black leather boots, highly polished, upon which sat the beautifully pressed cuffs of his mauve trousers. Around his neck was wrapped a silk scarf, and a fur hat shaped like a cooking pot was pulled down tightly over his ears. It could not fully contain his hair and more the a few silver strands curled out from underneath." Chapter 3, Page 12.

• "With every step Joe took, a set of keys hooked to his belt jingled tunefully against his thigh. In his right hand he carried a rather battered leather satchel straining at the seams, and in his left a damp drawstring bag from which there emanated an intermittent croaking." Chapter 3, Page 12

• "For now he had to deal with the pawnbroker. Every time he thought of Joe, That string bean of a character whose hair defied description,"- Chapter 19 Page 121

• "Without a doubt Joe was the breath of fresh air the village had needed for a long, long time."- Chapter 21- Page 128

• "Sometimes conversations with Joe were like riddles"- Chapter 16 Page 91

• "Joe was indeed coming down the street in his usual jaunty pace. He had the grip of a mountain goat. Right now one or two villagers were wondering whether his shoes did contain those telltale cloven feet."- Chapter 22 Page 139

• "Joe was a man of few expressions"- Chapter 16 Page 90

• Has a pet frog named Saluki- glistening skin in a patchwork of vibrant reds, greens, yellows. Unlike any frogs in Pagus Parvus. Her feet aren't webbed but instead more like long-fingered hands with knobbly joints and toes. - Chapter 6 Page 29 Treats her like a queen, feeding her the finest bugs, snails and worms- Chapter 16 Page 90

Adaptation B: Initial Concepts

Fig 1: Ludlow

Fig 2: Joe Zabbidou

Here are some Initial drawings for the two characters from "The Black Book of Secrets" I'm style experimenting with the style I want to go for and trying to figure out how to make the two characters relatable to each other. Clothing wise I've decided to go with a more Victorian style however due to Joe's known habit of travelling for his job as a Secret Pawnbroker I'd imagine that he wouldn't be in a stereotypical English suit. Ludlow on the other hand is a poor boy from the City so him wearing the chimney sweep boys clothes of shirt, overalls and a larger then him coat would suit to drive the point that he is more and make the silk scarf he stole at the beginning of the book more prominent. I want to use the character descriptions from the beginning of the book when the two characters meet for the first time as that has the most description.

Adaptation B: Black Book of Secrets Mood Board

For my Adaptation B project I want to do the two main characters from the Black Book of Secrets by F.E. Higgins, and the shop they live in. The style I want to go for for the characters are based on the character designs by John Pomeroy for Atlantis: The Lost Empire, the character designs of the humans in 101 Dalmations and the illustrator of the A Series of Unfortunate Events books Brett Helquist. With the colour scheme I want to go for, I was thinking along the lines of muddy colours like browns, reds, oranges and dark greens, taking inspiration from the colour schemes in the cartoon Over the Garden Wall and the game Don't Starve. This is because the village of Pavus Pagus where the story is set is described as a dismal place on the mountainside that is constantly cloudy. As the timezone in the book isn't explicitly stated I was going to take inspiration from other young teen books like A series of Unfortunate Events and how they marry up a mixture of the old and the new. As well as this, the quirky design of the houses and shops from Hogsmeade in Harry Potter for inspiration for what the exterior of the shop would look like.