Concept Artwork/ Story Development

Of course to get started on making an idea into reality, you have to put it down on paper, so to speak or type it on a computer. So got around to developing the storyline and concepts for the setting of the story. Originally, I worked on this idea over the summer for I was going to produce an illustrated novel of the story but I decided it would quite a good idea for an animation so I chose this idea for the project. Below is the brief for the main story idea.

Working Title – A Deep Sea Encounter

Synopsis - A marine biologist and his eleven-year-old son embark on a journey of discovery in a submersible pod in the deep sea where they encounter a strange creature unlike anything they’ve ever seen before.

Plot - A marine biologist, Dr John Brantwood, and his son, Andrew, go on a journey in a submersible pod to the bottom of the sea, miles below the surface to discover any creatures that they have not seen before. Upon discovering an unknown cave that is filled with bioluminescent plant life, their pod accidentally loses power through physical damage. Stranded in a cave and unable to call for help and a certain amount of oxygen left, the boy discovers an unknown creature: a female looking humanoid sea creature with bioluminescence. Upon encounter, the two develop a bond and the fish girl summons a group of creatures that gather to get the pod out of the cave and they produce enough light to attract the attention of a rescue team who has come to retrieve the pod and the passengers after the system powered down.

Time – 1990s, daytime, summer.

Characters – John Brantwood, a marine biologist who specializes in deep-sea excavation. He is hardworking but he attempts to spend as much time as he can with his son.

Andrew Brantwood – John’s eleven-year-old son who has isolated himself from other children ever since his mother left. He has a thirst for knowledge, especially in marine life having been inspired by his father.

The Deep Sea Angel – an unknown bioluminescent creature that shows a level of intelligence when she summons some of her kind to assist the humans after their pod is damaged.

Theme – Discovery, dark, mysterious, alien like, adventure. Light to dark.

Below are a series of images of concept art/sketches/illustrations that show the artistic style and setting of the environments that will be involved with the storyline. Most of these images are based on reference and research and involve a mixture of digital paintings and textured hand drawings coloured in Photoshop.

ORIGINAL STORYBOARD IDEAS

Once we had confirmed the time period for production, we had decided to turn this idea into a short animated trailer. Below are a few scanned images of storyboards I produced that contain shot which we may possibly use for the final version of the trailer.

FINAL STORYBOARDS

The storyboards images below are for the final version of the animated trailer that we will be producing, although there may be a few minor changes we will make along the way, this is the storyline in the order we will be sticking to. Composed of earlier sketches and other images combined, including a few from the animatic one of my team members produced earlier on.

ILLUSTRAIONS/ DESIGNS

Here is a series of images/ illustrations that I produced to visualise the setting and theme of the environments that may be relevant to the story plot. Some of these images are actually illustrations for the unfinished novel of the story. Most of the images hand-drawn, scanned and were coloured and textured using Adobe Photoshop and Microsoft Paint.

A piece of concept artwork, reflecting on the style and setting of the story. Always wanted to have a low angle shot of a vehicle descending through water so I came up with this image. This image is completely computer generated as the submersible pod shown was created using a 3D software known as Truespace761, it's not anywhere near as advanced as Autodesk Maya but it's really easy to use, especially for modelling.

Original illustration of the submersible pod, travelling through a narrow tunnel that contain bioluminescent plant life. Once again, the pod was CGI but the tunnel and the plants were hand drawn.

Another image in the tunnel where the pod crashes into one side of the tunnel.

A rough image of a posterized CGI version of the Pod, complete with lens flares and lighting, which was once again achieved in Photoshop.

Another illustration, showing the damage the pod suffers in the original storyline.

More concept art. This is the "rescue attempt" illustration, where the bioluminescent creatures, which we've named "jelly maids" rescue the stranded pod and carry it out of the tunnel. Once again did low lighting and glow effects while using a brush that creates sparkling particles to surround the area.

Illustration that shows the group of jelly maids surrounding the damaged yet rescued pod.

Design of an anglerfish, one of possible sea animals that will be seen in the final version of the animation. A possible reference for an anglerfish model. 

Original design of "submersible pod" vehicle, in blueprint mode. Already developed this during the summer break so I thought this would be a good opportunity to use the CGI model of the submersible pod.

Another blueprint version of the vehicle from different angles.

Original pencil illustration of the cave scene before it was coloured and textured in Photoshop.

A digital painting/hand drawn sketch that shows an entrance to a large cave. Another possible piece of environment to use in the setting of the story. 

Digital painting of a decaying shipwreck on the ocean floor. Another idea for a piece of environment.

Design for a bioluminescent species of jellyfish. Produced this after looking up research on the creature.

Original sketch design of a deep sea creature that the main characters will interact with during their excavation.

Another pencil drawing of the "jelly maid", showing her observing through pod window on the outside. 

More on this as it develops.